Rise of dementia under age of 65

By Metro Creative

Instances of early-onset dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in individuals under the age of 65 are on the rise.

According to the Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) Health IndexSM, roughly 131,000 commercially insured Americans between the ages of 30 and 64 were diagnosed with early-onset dementia or Alzheimer’s disease in 2017. That marks a 200% increase since 2013.

Diagnosis rates among individuals between the ages of 45 and 54 were especially high in 2017 compared to 2013. Within that age group in 2013, 2.7 out of every 100,000 people were diagnosed with early-onset dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. That number rose to 10.9 out of every 100,000 people in 2017, marking a 311% increase in just four years.

— Metro Creative