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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health

Sec. Aging and Public Health

Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1585711

Global burden of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias in adults aged 65 years and older, 1991-2021: population-based study

Provisionally accepted
XiaoPeng  ZhuXiaoPeng Zhu1*Xia  LaiXia Lai2Xa  XuXa Xu1Juan  DengJuan Deng1Yan  LongYan Long1*
  • 1Department of Medical Engineering, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
  • 2Department of Neurosurgery, Chongqing Emergency Medical Center, Chongqing, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Objectives: This study aims to analyze the prevalence, impact, and disparities of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias(ADRD) among adults aged 65 years and older worldwide, across different regions and countries, spanning the years 1991 to 2021. Methods: GBD 2021 obtained data on dementia from vital registration systems, published scientific literature and surveys, and data from health-service encounters on deaths, excess mortality, prevalence, and incidence from 1991 to 2021, through systematic review and additional data-seeking efforts. Individuals aged ≥ 65 years from 21 regions and 204 countries and territories (Global Burden of Disease and Risk Factors Study 2021) from 1991 to 2021 were analyzed. Primary outcomes were ADRD related to aged ≥ 65 years age-standardized prevalence, deaths, disabilityadjusted life years (DALYs), and average annual percentage change(AAPC) ,and the fractions of these metrics that were attributable to three risk factors (high BMI, high fasting glucose, and smoking )that met GBD . Results: The global mortality of ADRD among adults aged ≥65 years increased by 115%, from 6.5 (95% UI 1.5 to 18)per 100,000 population in 1991 to 14(95% UI 3.5 to 37) per 100,000 population in 2021, with an Average Annual Percentage Change (AAPC) of 1.10%(95%CI 0.45% to 删除[晓鹏 朱]: 1.76%) . The prevalence of ADRD in adults aged ≥65 years increased by 160% between 1991 and 2021, from 18.7(95%UI 14.9 to 23.2) million to 49(95%UI 38.6 to 61.2) million. The aged ≥65 years age-standardized prevalence of ADRD in this age group increased from 11,977(95%UI 9438 to 14935) per 100,000 population in 1991 to 12,124(95%UI 9489 to 15204) per 100,000 populationin 2021. The aged ≥65 years the number of prevalent persons was more significant among females than among males (males: from 6.2 (95%UI 4.8 to 7.8)million in 1991 to 17.2(95%UI 13.4 to 21.6) million in 2021;

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, 65 years and older, Global burden, GBD, old age.

Received: 01 Mar 2025; Accepted: 26 May 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Zhu, Lai, Xu, Deng and Long. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
XiaoPeng Zhu, Department of Medical Engineering, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, 400042, China
Yan Long, Department of Medical Engineering, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, 400042, China

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