New study says Alzheimer's deaths more common in rural U.S., especially in Southeast, and disparity is increasing

"Death rates from Alzheimer's disease are particularly high in the rural United States, a preliminary study finds, highlighting a need for health care resources in traditionally under-served areas," Amy Norton reports for HealthDay. In a study that has not been peer-reviewed, "Researchers discovered that over the past two decades, rural areas in the Southeast have seen the highest death rates from Alzheimer's, at 274 per 100,000 people. That's about twice the rate as seen in urban areas of the mid-Atlantic region, which had the lowest numbers."

Researchers studied data from the National Center for Health Statistics to compare deaths by region and urbanization. Overall, Alzheimer's deaths rose by 88 percent between 1999 and 2019, they found. "The Mid-Atlantic and New England regions maintained the lowest rates, while the Southeast had the highest for most of the study period. Big cities, meanwhile, had lower death rates than non-metropolitan areas," Norton reports. "Those disparities only increased over time, the study found."

The study didn't address the reasons for the trends, but lead researcher Dr. Ambar Kulshreshtha of Emory University said some likely culprits include the higher likelihood of stroke and heart disease—both of which are risk factors for Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia—as well as overall poorer health-care access, Norton reports. That can mean people are less likely to get early dementia screening or specialist care. He recommends more training for doctors and more resources for under-served communities.

The findings, which were presented this week at the Alzheimer's Association's annual meeting, are considered preliminary until published and peer-reviewed.