Association Between United States Geographic Region, Income, Educational Attainment, and Alzheimer’s Disease Mortality

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) carries significant clinical and financial consequences. Evidence links socioeconomic and demographic factors (eg, income, education) to AD risk and progression. Regional disparities in AD mortality are not well-characterized. We examined the association between U.S. geographic region, income, education, and Alzheimer’s mortality among adults aged ≥65. Using publicly-available, aggregated CDC Wonder and U.S. Census data (2021–2023), we analyzed randomly-selected Pacific and Southern states. Weighted regional income and education metrics were calculated; multiple linear regression assessed correlations with state-level AD mortality rates. Results showed a weak positive association between income and mortality in Pacific states (β = 0.0013; p = 0.0001) and a weak non-significant negative association in Southern states (β = –0.0118; p = 0.2647). Educational attainment demonstrated a stronger negative correlation with mortality in both regions, reaching statistical significance in the Pacific cohort (β = –1.3695; p = 0.0005). There was a non-significant, negative association with educational attainment for the Southern cohort (β = –0.0322; p = 0.9839). While higher education may be protective against Alzheimer’s mortality, regional differences and unmeasured confounders (eg, state-level cost of living, healthcare access, reporting variability) may influence the relationship between income and AD outcomes.