Dementia affects about 4 to 5 million elderly American adults, according to the authors, adding the number of adults in the U.S. and abroad with dementia is expected to grow three-fold by 2050 because of the increasing population of elderly individuals.

An April 2013 report from RAND found that dementia in the U.S. costs the country a range from $157 billion to $215 billion annually, with a per-person cost ranging from $41,689 to $56,290. The study estimated the total cost to reach $511 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars by 2040.