Odds of Alzheimer's diagnoses vary by region
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The odds of being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease can vary widely depend on where you live, a new study finds.
Why it matters: Awareness of geographic variations is important for connecting patients with the services and care they need — and identifying possible shortcomings in diagnostic processes, researchers wrote in Alzheimer's & Dementia.
What they found: The University of Michigan-led study examined Medicare fee-for-service claims for roughly 4.8 million Americans who were 66 or older beginning in 2019.
- Researchers identified 419,646 beneficiaries with a dementia diagnoses, including 143,029 with a new diagnosis in 2019, and estimated "diagnosis intensity" — a ratio of expected cases compared to actual diagnoses — based on hospital referral regions.
- The highest difference between what was expected and diagnosed was in the South.
- Prior research showed the prevalence of dementia mirroring an area stretching from the Southeast to the Midwest known as the "stroke belt" where the population has higher cardiovascular risk factors and a greater proportion of Black residents.
- But adjusting for other factors, researchers found the South isn't a uniform risk zone and that there still are substantial geographic differences in Alzheimer's diagnoses.
- The variation in diagnosing intensity was especially pronounced among Medicare beneficiaries 66-74 years old and those who are Black and Hispanic.
The big picture: The number of Americans with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias is expected to jump from 6.7 million in 2023 to 13 million by 2060.
- Up to 60% of those living with dementia haven't been diagnosed, a problem that may be attributed to stigma or a belief that symptoms are part of normal aging.
- Variations in diagnoses partly hinge on the skill of clinicians making or communicating the diagnoses, the authors said.
Bottom line: Improving the ability to diagnose the disease early can provide more patients the opportunity for advance care planning, care coordination and access to new treatments.
