The first-ever county-level estimates of Alzheimer’s disease prevalence were released this week at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference. Arizona counties with the highest prevalence are in the southern part of the state.
Yuma County has about 44,000 people age 65 and older, according to Alzheimer’s Association data. It also has the highest prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease of any county in the state.
Katie Skvarce is in the Desert Southwest branch of the group.
“So Yuma County has the highest, not by a ton, but at 13.3%, followed by Santa Cruz and Greenlee counties in the south at 13.2%,” she says.
Skvarce said these findings could guide the allocation of resources to public health programs in these regions.
Alzheimer’s Association Desert Southwest Chapter
The researchers found that Yuma County has the highest rate of Alzheimer’s disease in Arizona.
