Dementia: the 3rd Leading Cause of Death?

Dementia is a major cause of death. We know that. The government's mortality reports show Alzheimer's disease to be the 6th leading cause of death in the United States. In 2017, Alzheimer's disease killed 121,000 Americans.

But Alzheimer's disease accounts for only a portion of dementia deaths. A much larger 262,000 people died of dementia in 2017, according to a report by the National Center for Health Statistics. If all types of dementias were considered a single cause of death (as they are in some countries), then dementia would be the third leading cause of death in the United States, following heart disease and cancer.

The NCHS report provides a detailed look at dementia deaths by type. Alzheimer's disease is most common, accounting for 46 percent of dementia deaths in 2017. Vascular dementia deaths are another 6 percent, and other types or unspecified dementias account for the rest. Regardless of the type, all dementias have one thing in common—they are debilitating for the individual and devastating for the family. One table in the report reveals the debilitation and devastation: place of death. Most dementia deaths occur in a nursing home, long-term care facility, or hospice. In other words, most patients and families are unable to deal with the consequences of dementia on their own or at home. Among all deaths in the U.S., just 27 percent occur in a nursing home, long-term care facility, or hospice. Among dementia deaths, the figure is 60 percent.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Mortality Data, Dementia Mortality in the United States, 2000–2017