Dementia on the Rise Worldwide: An Explainer and Research Roundup

Absent effective treatments, the number of people with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias is expected to increase in the coming decades, while racial and ethnic disparities will continue to persist, studies show.

Dementia is growing worldwide, recent research argues that this disease is on the rise. Shutterstock

The estimated number of people with dementia is expected to increase to 153 million by 2050 worldwide, compared with an estimated 57 million cases in 2019, according to recent projections published in The Lancet Public Health.

In the U.S., dementia cases are expected to double to 10.5 million by 2050, up from 5.3 million in 2019, shows “Estimation of the Global Prevalence of Dementia in 2019 and Forecasted Prevalence in 2050: An Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019.”