Alzheimer's Risk Factors by U.S. Zip Code

Zip code-level data combines Alzheimer's disease rates with environmental and socioeconomic variables for the mid-Atlantic United States. The dataset was used in a 2021 MDPI Earth publication analyzing the inverse association between greenspace and Alzheimer's risk. Specific row and column counts are not provided.

Use Cases

• Analyze correlations between Alzheimer's disease rates and modelled PM2.5 levels across zip codes.
• Investigate the relationship between percent of landcover types (e.g., greenspace) and Alzheimer's risk as studied in the associated publication.
• Build a model to predict Alzheimer's rates using socioeconomic variables and environmental factors at the zip code level.

Strengths

• Data is organized by U.S. zip code, enabling spatial analysis of health and environmental factors.
• Integrates multiple data types: health outcomes (Alzheimer's rates), environmental data (PM2.5, landcover), and socioeconomic variables.
• Associated with a peer-reviewed publication from 2021, providing research context and validation.

Limitations

• Individual-level data is restricted due to privacy concerns, limiting analysis to aggregated zip code levels.
• The specific temporal coverage and number of data points (rows) are unknown.
• Access is restricted; the dataset is not publicly accessible for download without authorization.

Provenance

Source

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), derived from a Medicare database.

Collection Method

Data was organized by zip code, with rates of Alzheimer's disease, landcover percentages, modelled PM2.5, and socioeconomic variables compiled for analysis.

Freshness

Last updated in December 2021.

Geography

Mid-Atlantic United States.