Mississippi has the highest Alzheimer’s death rate in the US

JACKSON, Mississippi (WJTV) – As recent advances in Alzheimer’s research emerge, data demonstrates the disease’s deadly impact in Mississippi.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 120,122 people nationwide died of Alzheimer’s disease in 2022, the year with the most recent numbers. In Mississippi, 1,679 people died from the most common form of dementia that year. The state’s death rate of 48.5 per 100,000 people is the highest in the country. Mississippi has led the nation with the highest death rate every year since 2016 except for 2018.

In 2005, Mississippi’s Alzheimer’s death rate was 26.6 per 100,000 people, the 22nd highest in the country. Based on available CDC data, it peaked at 58 per 100,000 in 2020, more than double what it had been 15 years earlier.

Of the 10 states with the highest death rates, six are in the South. As of 2019, Alabama has the second-highest Alzheimer’s death rate. In 2005, Alabama’s death rate was 25% higher than Mississippi’s. In 2022, Mississippi’s death rate was about 15% higher than the Yellowhammer State.

Nationally, CDC data shows that the disease is the seventh leading cause of death nationwide and in Mississippi. Most people affected are over age 65, but Alzheimer’s can strike earlier. Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by certain changes in the brain that occur before symptoms appear. Symptoms include memory loss, impaired judgment, disorientation, personality changes, learning difficulties, and loss of language skills.

Recent advances in Alzheimer’s research show progress. The development of artificial intelligence models to predict the onset of the disease and the approval of a new drug that can slow the associated cognitive decline are promising for many. Current drugs only alleviate symptoms and do not reverse the course of the disease.