Economic Burden of Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias by Race and Ethnicity, 2020 to 2060

Abstract

Importance: Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD) have substantial clinical and public health consequences for individuals, families, employers, and government.

Objective: To assess ADRD's economic burden on non-Latino African American, Latino, and non-Latino White adults and their caregivers, employers, and the government between 2020 and 2060.

Design, setting, and participants: Population-based cross-sectional study using nationally representative data on African American, Latino, and White adults aged 50 years and older with ADRD and their unpaid caregivers from the 2014 to 2020 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) alongside the 2011 to 2017 National Study of Caregiving (NSOC) and 2013 Panel Study of Income Dynamics. These data were augmented with information from the US Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Internal Revenue Service, and other sources to estimate current and future economic burden. Two-part regression models were used to estimate medical and work-related costs for older adults, and multivariate-distance matching was used to estimate the value of unpaid care, lost wages and productivity, loss of federal income tax revenue, and financial transfers for caregivers. Data were analyzed from March 2023 to February 2025.

Exposure: Older adults with ADRD and their family caregivers.

Main outcomes and measures: Projected medical costs and work-related losses for persons with ADRD, and unpaid care value, forgone earnings, and lost federal income tax payments and labor productivity for caregivers.

Results: Of 31 028 older adults in MEPS, 5184 (10%) were African American; 146 (<1%) American Indian or Alaska Native; 1043 (3%) Asian (Indian, Chinese, or Filipino); 5346 (10%) Latino; 690 (2%) Other Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander; and 18 617 (75%) were White. In the NSOC sample of 1929 older adults, there were 644 (33%) African American, 169 (9%) Latino, and 1116 (58%) White adults. The total estimated economic burden of ADRD was close to $344 billion in 2020 and was projected to increase to over $3 trillion in 2060. African American and Latino adults bore one-third ($113 billion) of it in 2020, with projections rising to $1.7 trillion by 2060, surpassing the economic burden for White adults, which was projected to grow from $231 billion to $1.4 trillion.

Conclusions and relevance: The findings of this study suggest that African American and Latino older adults with ADRD and their families are likely to face disproportionately high burdens, primarily associated with unpaid caregiving. Understanding ADRD prevalence, comorbidity, inadequate care, and support policies may attenuate economic burdens for all US residents.