According to the most recent CDC data summary, in 2022, more than a quarter million deaths (288,436) deaths among U.S. adults 65 and older were attributed to Alzheimer’s disease as the underlying cause. These deaths include vascular dementia, unspecified dementia, Alzheimer disease, and other degenerative diseases of the nervous system (including Lewy body dementia).
CDC data show that rates of death attributed to dementia have increased since 2018. This data is a good starting point to examining why there has been an overall increase in dementia-related deaths and how different racial and ethnic groups are affected. Data are based on the National Vital Statistics System mortality files, accessed via CDC WONDER. The original data sets are not available for offline use as of Feb. 8, 2025 — although files can be downloaded, they cannot be unzipped and may be corrupted.
To access the data, run a query using “15 leading causes of death” as the only variable; the system will produce a table showing deaths, population and crude rate per 100,000 for the current period. You can also run queries with variables like ICD-10 codes (Alzheimer’s is G30), year, racial and ethnic groups, state, census and metropolitan statistical areas, among other attributes.
Deeper dive
According to the summary, age-adjusted death rates for dementia were stable between 2018 and 2019, but over the following year the rate increased by 10.2%, from 520.1 deaths per 100,000 standard population to 572.9 deaths. Between 2019 and 2020, death rates increased for men by 7.1% (from 440.5 to 471.6) and for women by 11.8% (567.7 to 634.5).
Between 2020 and 2022, dementia death rates overall declined to 548.9, but remained higher than the 2018 and 2019 rates. Dementia death rates for women declined each year from 2020 (634.5) to 2022 (599.6). For men, death rates declined from 2020 (471.6) to 2021 (465.3) but were stable from 2021 to 2022 (464.6). Dementia death rates were higher for women than men throughout the period.
Death rates were higher for white non-Hispanic adults 65 and older compared with Black non-Hispanic and Hispanic adults. Death rates for all groups were stable between 2018 and 2019. From 2019 to 2020, they increased from 370.6 to 425.8 for Hispanic adults; from 502.9 to 582.7 for Black adults; and from 555.3 to 608 for white adults. Both Black and white adults saw a decline in dementia death rates from 2020 to 2022, while rates for Hispanic adults remained stable.
The percentage of deaths occurring in nursing homes or long-term care facilities declined from 53.6% in 2018 to 44.6% in 2022. During this period, deaths occurring at home increased from 23.7% to 30.4% of all dementia deaths. The percentage of deaths in hospice facilities increased from 6.4% to 6.6%, and the percentage in hospitals declined from 8.2% to 7.6%. Since this was the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s possible that cause of death was attributed more often to COVID-19 and related conditions.