Table
Prevalence of the
Major Causes of
Adult-Onset Brain
Impairment in the US
Population
| DIAGNOSIS/CAUSE | PREVALENCE ESTIMATE - LOW | PREVALENCE ESTIMATE - HIGH |
| Alzheimer's Disease | 4,000,0001 | 4,000,0001 |
| Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis | 30,0002 | 30,0002 |
| Brain Tumor | N/A | N/A |
| Epilepsy | 1,750,0003 | 1,750,0003 |
| HIV (AIDS) Dementia | 60,5004,5 | 157,3004,6 |
| Huntington's Disease | 30,0007 | 30,0007 |
| Multiple Sclerosis | 250,0008 | 350,0008 |
| Parkinson's Disease | 1,500,0009 | 1,500,0009 |
| Stroke | 3,000,00010 | 4,000,00011 |
| Traumatic Brain Injury | 2,500,00012 | 3,700,00013 |
| TOTAL PREVALENCE | 13,120,500 | 15,517,300 |
1Alzheimer's
Association (1998)
Alzheimer's Disease:
Statistics:
Chicago, IL.
2Amyotrophic
Lateral Sclerosis
Association (1998) Facts
about ALS and the
ALS association:
Woodland Hills, CA.
3Epilepsy
Foundation of
America (1998) Epilepsy
facts and figures:
Landover, MD. [Note:
Estimate is for
adults only. Based
on 70% of 2,500,000
person prevalence
for epilepsy in the
U.S.]
4Centers
for Disease Control
(1998) Magnitude of
the epidemic, Trends.
[Note: Based on
242,000 persons
reported to be
living with AIDS,
divided by the
percent who develop
AIDS-related
dementia: Atlanta,
Georgia. See notes 5
and 6 below.]
5Wiley,
C.A. et al. (1998)
Distribution of
brain HIV load in
AIDS, Brain
Pathology, 8(2):
277-84. [Note: The
authors conclude
that approximately
25% of patients with
AIDS will develop
severe cognitive
deficits called
HIV-associated
dementia complex
(ADC).]
6Mussa,
M. et al. (1997)
HIV-1 cognitive and
motor syndrome. Sante,
7(3): 187-93. [Note:
This article
concludes that the
worldwide frequency
of HIV-1
encephalopathy is
between 4% and 65%;
the high-end
estimate was chosen
for use in Table 1.]
7Huntington's
Disease Society of
America (1998) Huntington's
disease: Facts at a
glance: New
York, NY. [Note: An
estimated 150,000
additional persons
are at risk of
inheriting
Huntington's disease
from a parent.]
8Anderson,
D.W., et al. (1992)
Revised estimate of
the prevalence of
multiple sclerosis
in the United
States. Annals of
Neurology,
31(33): 333-336.
[Note: An estimated
43% of persons with
M.S. are cognitively
impaired. (See: Rao,
S.M., Leo, G.J.,
Bernardin, L., and
Unverzagt, F.
(1991), Cognitive
Disfunction in
Multiple Sclerosis,
I: Frequency,
Patterns, and
Prediction Neurology,
41:685-691.)]
9National
Parkinson Foundation
(1998) What the
patient should know:
Miami, FL.
10National
Stroke Association
(1998) Stroke
facts:
Inglewood, CO.
11American
Heart Association
(1998) Stroke
(Brain Attack):
Dallas, TX.
12National
Institutes of Health
(1998) NIH
consensus statement
on rehabilitation of
persons with
traumatic brain
injury:
Bethesda, MD. [Note:
Estimate includes
all ages.]
13Thurman,
D. J. (1999) Preliminary
estimate of
prevalence for
adults age 18+
living with an
acquired brain
injury. Personal
communication,
January 8, 1999.
National Center for
Injury Prevention
and Control Centers
for Disease Control,
Atlanta, GA.
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