According to data collected by Independence and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), an association of independent Blue Cross^® and Blue Shield^® plans, diagnoses of early-onset dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in our region, and across the country, have notably increased in recent years.

The number of commercially insured Americans age 30 to 64 diagnosed with early-onset dementia or Alzheimer’s disease increased by 200 percent from 2013 to 2017. Among that group, the average age of a person living with either form of dementia is 49.

From 2014 – 2017, the prevalence of Alzheimer’s and/or dementia in Independence members increased by:

• 83 percent for members age 30 – 44;
• 50 percent for members age 45 – 54; and
• 40 percent for members 55 – 64.

The findings came from a new BCBSA report, Early-Ons et Dementia and Alzheimer’s Rates Grow for Younger American Adults. The report is part of the BCBSA’s The Health of America Report^® series.

Learn more

To learn more about the report and see additional findings from the study, please read the complete press release.

Independence Blue Cross is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.