“Unfortunately, we keep seeing those numbers increase,” said Annemarie Barnett, executive director of the Alzheimer’s Association Greater Cincinnati and Miami Valley Chapters.
11.3% of Ohioans 65 and older have Alzheimer’s
New statistics for Ohio from the Alzheimer’s Association’s newly released 2025 Facts and Figures report show:
- Number of Ohio residents aged 65 and older living with Alzheimer’s: 236,200
- Percentage of adults over 65 with Alzheimer’s: 11.3%
- Number of Ohio residents serving as unpaid family caregivers: 452,000
- Total hours of unpaid care provided: 679 million
- Total value of unpaid care: $13.3 billion
- Medicaid costs of caring for people with Alzheimer’s in 2025: $3.2 billion
“This year’s report finds that the impact of Alzheimer’s on Ohio residents and families is significant,” Barnett said.
Alzheimer’s is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, said Gail Crump, a nurse practitioner at the Memory Center for Premier Health’s Clinical Neuroscience Institute.
“It causes the accumulation of what we call amyloid plaque and neurofibrillary tangles,” Crump said. Amyloid plaque and neurofibrillary tangles are types of protein doctors believe to be key features of Alzheimer’s disease.
That buildup can lead to increasingly debilitating conditions, like functional cognitive problems and behavioral impairments, Crump said.
Deaths increased 142% over two decades
The new report shows prevalence, disease-related deaths and the cost of caring for those living with Alzheimer’s are rising across the country. Among the findings:
- 7.2 million people aged 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s disease.
- Deaths due to Alzheimer’s disease more than doubled between 2000 and 2022—over 142%.
- Total annual costs of caring for people living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias (excluding unpaid care) is projected to be $384 billion in 2025.
- Additionally, nearly 12 million family members and friends provide 19.2 billion hours of unpaid care, valued at an additional $413 billion.
Most want to know if they have it
Most people ― nearly four in five Americans, or 79% ― would want to know if they have Alzheimer’s before symptoms start to interfere with day-to-day life, a new survey from the Alzheimer’s Association shows.
More than nine in 10 Americans would “definitely or probably” want to utilize a simple test, such as a blood-based biomarker test, to find out their risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease. The Alzheimer’s Association is advocating for legislation, like Ohio’s House Bill 8, to mandate that health insurers cover biomarker testing.
“We’re going to be lobbying for insurance companies to cover biomarker testing,” Barnett said. “That is key and crucial. The more we can get the biomarker testing out there and that it’s covered, the more people will have an opportunity to get diagnosed early, to start treatments early.”
New treatments, supports
Most Americans would want medication to slow the progression of the disease, and a number of people, or 58%, would be willing to a moderate or high risk of negative health outcomes with an anti-amyloid medication to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association’s survey.
“The survey underscores the need for advancing new treatments and making early diagnosis easier and more accessible to anyone concerned about their memory and thinking,” said Barnett.
When it’s time for doctors to have those conversations about the next steps after an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, Crump tries to give those families a form of hope, she said.
“They won’t be going through this journey alone,” Crump said.
As Ohioans continue to age, more resources for families caring for a loved one with dementia are popping up, such as day-time activities with Easterseals or the YMCA, as well as other options for respite care.
“There are other resources in the community to help you and your family get through this,” Crump said.
The 2025 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report, including the accompanying special report, American Perspectives on Early Detection of Alzheimer’s Disease in the Era of Treatment, can be viewed at alz.org/facts.
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