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Alzheimer's Disease and Dementias

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Dementia causes serious loss of cognitive ability, including memory, communication and language, reason and judgment, and visual perception. Alzheimer's disease is the most common form, but all dementias go beyond the normal signs of aging to interfere with daily life, affecting millions of people each year. RAND experts analyze long-term care options and effectiveness, as well as how dementia impacts caregivers, society, and the economy.

News Release
Prevalence of Dementia Is Declining Among Older Americans; Inequalities Reduced but Still Persist
The prevalence of dementia in the United States is declining among people over age 65, dropping 3.7 percentage points from 2000 to 2016.
Nov 7, 2022
Commentary
Dementia in the National Security Workforce Could Create a Security Threat
Challenges associated with cognitive impairment in the workplace will increase as people continue to live longer and retire later. Individuals who work in national security and intelligence could become a security threat if they develop dementia and unwittingly share government secrets.
Apr 4, 2023

Explore Alzheimer's Disease and Dementias

Journal Article
Evaluating the Pragmatic Characteristics of Advance Care Planning Outcome Measures in Dementia Clinical Trials: A Scoping Review
In this review of ACP RCTs enrolling PLWD or their care partners, we found that the majority of outcome measures were not highly pragmatic in nature and had high data capture burden, but over half were highly relevant to PLWD or their care partners.
Jul 31, 2023
Journal Article
Using Pulse Oximeters in Care Homes for Residents with COVID-19 and Other Conditions: A Rapid Mixed-Methods Evaluation
Through a rapid mixed-methods evaluation of care homes in England, this article explores whether use of pulse oximeters in care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic was beneficial to care home staff and residents.
Jul 26, 2023
Report
Modeling the Impact of Research Investment on Down Syndrome–Associated Alzheimer's Disease
The authors developed a multistate population simulation and projection model to study trends in Down syndrome–associated Alzheimer's disease and the associated impact on caregiving.
Jul 24, 2023
Journal Article
Changes in Nursing Home Use Following Medicaid-Supported Expanded Access to Home- and Community-Based Services for Older Adults With Dementia
New York State's Medicaid managed long-term care (MLTC) program expanded access to home- and community-based services. This cohort study evaluated changes in nursing home use among older adults with dementia following MLTC implementation.
Jul 11, 2023
Journal Article
Typologies of Dementia Caregiver Support Networks: A Pilot Study
This study suggests that there are different types of care and support networks available to caregivers to people with Alzheimer's Disease and Dementias, and that the size and structure of networks vary considerably among demographic groups.
Jun 13, 2023
Journal Article
Estimated Annual Spending on Lecanemab and Its Ancillary Costs in the US Medicare Program
To estimate annual Medicare spending on lecanemab, we performed a cost analysis using nationally representative survey data from the 2018 Health and Retirement Study (HRS).
May 17, 2023
Periodical
RAND Review: May-June 2023
The cover story commemorates RAND's 75th anniversary. One feature article explores what it would take to eliminate racial wealth disparities in the United States; another highlights a promising mental health first aid initiative in New York City.
May 12, 2023
Journal Article
Barriers and Facilitators to Home- and Community-Based Services Access for Persons With Dementia and Their Caregivers
Barriers to HCBS access for persons with dementia range from community and infrastructure barriers (e.g., clinicians and cultural differences), to interpersonal and individual-level barriers (e.g., caregivers, awareness, and attitudes).
May 4, 2023
Journal Article
A Pragmatic Parallel Arm Randomized-Controlled Trial of a Multi-Pronged Electronic Health Record-Based Clinical Decision Support Tool Protocol to Reduce Low-Value Antipsychotic Prescriptions Among Older Adults with Alzheimer's and Related Dementias
We designed a pragmatic randomized-controlled trial to measure the impact of a behavioral economic electronic health record (EHR) clinical decision support (CDS) intervention to reduce physician prescriptions of new antipsychotic medications among patients with ADRD.
May 4, 2023
Journal Article
Does Integration of Palliative Care and Infection Management Reduce Hospital Transfers Among Nursing Home Residents?
We evaluated integration of palliative care and infection management (i.e. merging the goals of palliative care and infection management at end of life) in nursing homes and its association with hospital transfers for residents with advanced illness.
Apr 11, 2023
Commentary
Advancing Women's Health Requires Better Evidence
For decades, advances in health and health care have had a bias toward the male body. By shifting the focus of research to women's bodies and building out this base of evidence on women's health, scientists and doctors can improve health outcomes and overall quality of life for women, all while also saving money.
Apr 10, 2023
Blog
Dementia and National Security, Finland Joins NATO, the Four-Day School Week: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the risk that dementia could pose to national security, Finland's NATO membership, the downside of a four-day school week, and more.
Apr 7, 2023
Blog
Dementia Rates, Deepfakes, Migrant Students: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the decline of dementia rates among Americans, the dangers of deepfakes, data privacy after the reversal of Roe v. Wade, and more.
Nov 18, 2022
Journal Article
Estimated Wasteful Spending on Aducanumab Dispensing in the U.S. Medicare Population: A Cross-Sectional Analysis
Aducanumab, a weight-dosed Alzheimer's drug, is available in two fixed-dose vial sizes. This may result in large amounts of discarded drug and wasteful spending. More-efficient vial sizes could save Medicare money if the drug is approved for widespread use.
Aug 11, 2022
Blog
Synthetic Opioids, Ukrainian Grain, the Metaverse: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on countering the illegal flow of synthetic opioids, freeing up Ukrainian grain to prevent famine, the importance of defining the metaverse, and more.
Jun 24, 2022
Journal Article
Sleep Disturbances, Changes in Sleep, and Cognitive Function in Low-Income African Americans
In a predominantly African-American sample of older adults, worsening of sleep efficiency was associated with poorer cognitive function. Improving sleep health may support Alzheimer's prevention and reduce health disparities.
Jun 23, 2022
News Release
Poor Sleep and Nighttime Wakefulness Associated with Diminished Cognitive Function Among African Americans
More fragmented sleep and longer periods of wakefulness after bedtime among a group of low-income African American adults were associated with lower cognitive function such as poor attention and visuospatial ability. Improving sleep may support prevention of Alzheimer's and related dementias.
Jun 15, 2022
News Release
Research Project Will Probe Role of Structural Racism in Development of Dementias and Cognitive Decline Among African Americans
The RAND Corporation and the University of Pittsburgh will study residents of two predominantly Black neighborhoods in Pittsburgh to examine how exposure to the legacies of structural racism at the neighborhood and individual levels may contribute to the risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementia in African Americans.
Mar 14, 2022

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RAND Topic:
Alzheimer's Disease and Dementias

Topic Synonyms:
Neurocognitive Disorders

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Zetianyu Wang

Assistant Policy Researcher, RAND, and Ph.D. Student, Pardee RAND Graduate School

Zetianyu (Zet) Wang is a Ph.D. student in the Research, Analysis, and Design stream at Pardee RAND Graduate School and an assistant policy analyst at RAND. He has an M.P.P from Georgetown University and a B.A. in sociology from the Central University of Finance and Economics, China.
Jodi L. Liu

Policy Researcher

Jodi Liu (she/her) is a policy researcher at RAND and a professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. Her research broadly focuses on health care reform and health care costs. She has experience using simulation modeling to analyze the effects of health care policy changes on health insurance…

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