Researchers from the University of Malta have examined how global research on Alzheimer’s disease and dementia has evolved in recent years.
The study “Global trends in Alzheimer’s and dementia research (2019–2024): A machine learning-based bibliometric analysis” was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease in July 2026. The researchers used a machine-learning-assisted bibliometric approach to analyse more than 200,000 publications produced between 2019 and 2024. The study also examined whether global research activity reflects the priorities set out in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Blueprint for Dementia Research, which was introduced in 2022. The blueprint identifies six major research themes: disease mechanisms and models, diagnosis, drug development and clinical trials, risk reduction, dementia care and support and epidemiology and health economics.
The analysis found that global dementia research output increased by approximately 44%, rising from 27,248 publications in 2019 to 39,147 in 2024. However, the growth was not evenly distributed across the major research priorities identified by the WHO. Research on disease mechanisms and diagnosis remained the dominant areas throughout the period. At the same time, studies focused on dementia risk reduction and drug development showed some of the strongest growth. However, research addressing dementia care and support, epidemiology and health economics grew more slowly and declined after the publication of the WHO Blueprint.
The researchers conclude that global dementia research continues to expand but remains unevenly distributed across research priorities. They highlight the need for stronger investment in research addressing implementation and real-world dementia care, alongside continued advances in biomedical discovery and treatment.
https://doi.org/10.1177/13872877261471922
