The generations born more recently are less inclined to develop dementia at the same age as the previous ones, a more strong trend in women.
Although with the aging of the population, the audience of people susceptible to dementia is widening, in the most recent over 70s generations, this form of aging pathological is less likely to occur. With the same age, The cohorts of elderly born more recently show a reduced risk of dementia compared to those born previously. This was established by a study published on Jama Network Openaccording to which this trend would be even more evident in women.
Dementia in the over 70: how the risk changes
A group of scientists from the Center for the Business and Economics of Health of the University of Queensland, Australia, analyzed the health data of over 62,400 people collected on the health databases of the United States, the United Kingdom and some European countries. The authors of the study used an algorithm to estimate the probability that participants suffered from some form of dementia starting from their responses in some cognitive tests, or by the difficulties they reported in carrying out daily actions. The participants were then divided In 8 different cohorts representatives as many generations.
As predictable, the prevalence (i.e. the proportion of existing cases in a given population) of dementia has increased as the age increases in all cohorts of subjects studied. However, for the same age, people in the most recent generations were less inclined to manifest the symptoms of a possible dementia than those of previous generations. “For example, in the United States, among people aged 81 and 85, 25.1% of those born between 1890 and 1913 suffered from dementia, compared to 15.5% of those born between 1939 and 1943”, explains Sabrina Lenzen, among the authors of the study.
Dementia: the decline in the most pronounced frequency in women
The trend would seem more marked in women. Even if the study has not directly investigated the reasons, it could depend on theincreased access to women’s education starting from the 20th century. In general, the decline of the prevalence of dementia in women and men with the passage of time is probably attributable to interventions such as compulsory education, more stringent laws on smoking habit, better health care for chronic diseases such as cardiovascular problems, hearing loss and diabetes, conditions that increase the risk of dementia.
If so, it is also conceivable that the “big” of improvements to the quality of life has already been made, and that this positive trend is not destined to continue infinity. Indeed, it could stop due to increase in inequalities, poverty and nationalist and divisive policies.
