A new study provides the first-ever county-level estimates on the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease in the U.S.
In Maine, Aroostook County has the highest prevalence at 10.7% of people over 65. The county with the lowest prevalence is Waldo, at 9.1% of the population over 65.
Jill Carney, public policy director for the Maine chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, says it's unclear why Aroostook has a higher rate, but the data can be used to help allocate resources.
"The entire state of Maine is a neurology desert, which means that there's a chronic shortage of neurologists that have specialty in dementia services," she says. "And for folks in the County is that much harder to go and access that type of specialty care."
The study found that the highest rates of Alzheimer's in the U.S. are in the East and Southeast. Higher populations of older adults may be one explanation, because age is a major risk factor.
