Where You Live Might Increase Your Risk of Developing Alzheimer’s, New Research Says

Three counties on the East Coast of the United States have the highest prevalence of the disease

Where you live may predict your likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

The disease is most prevalent in Miami-Dade County in Florida, Baltimore (which is its own county) in Maryland, and Bronx County in New York, according to a new study that was presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) in Amsterdam this month.

The study also looked at states and found that California, Florida, and Texas had the highest number of people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, while Maryland (12.9%), New York (12.7%), and Mississippi (12.5%) had the highest percentage of diagnoses.

The data may be driven by the socioeconomic and demographic landscape of those locations, the study’s authors said.

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“Counties/states with more people aged [over] 85 [years] and minorities will have a higher estimate for the prevalence of Alzheimer's dementia,” Dr. Klodian Dhana, assistant professor in the division of geriatrics and palliative medicine at Rush University Medical Center, told Health. 

The CDC notes that by 2060, the rate of Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementia illnesses will increase seven times among Latino adults, and four times among Black adults.

Related: Famed Zookeeper Jack Hanna Doesn't Remember Most of His Family Due to 'Advanced' Alzheimer’s: 'Real Hard Some Days'

In addition, "Black and Latino adults…along with those of other racial and ethnic minority groups, are more likely to face barriers to diagnosis, care, and services,” the CDC says.

“Our study suggests that Alzheimer's dementia is differently distributed across the United States,” Dhana told Health. “These data may help public health programs to screen older adults for Alzheimer's and other dementias and provide resources for caring for people with Alzheimer’s.”

The Mayo Clinic estimates that 6.5 million people in the United States (65 and older) have the disease, with more than 70% of those patients being 75 years old and older. The progressive brain disorder is the most common form of dementia.

Alzheimer's disease is estimated to be the cause of up to 70% of the 55 million people globally with dementia. And although there isn't a definitive cause for it, the National Institute on Aging says it's a "combination of age-related changes in the brain, along with genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors."

Related: How Tony Bennett Lived and Sang for Years with Alzheimer's: 'Singing Is Everything to Him'

And while there is no cure for the disease, a new medication, Leqembi, was just approved by the FDA that promises to help slow the progression of the disease — if taken while still in its milder, early stages.

“Alzheimer’s disease immeasurably incapacitates the lives of those who suffer from it,” said Billy Dunn, M.D., director of the Office of Neuroscience in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, "and [it] has devastating effects on their loved ones."

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