In This ArticleView AllIn This ArticleWhat One Brain Health Study FoundCognitive Decline Factors
In This ArticleView All
View All
In This Article
What One Brain Health Study Found
Cognitive Decline Factors
If you can still sing along to every boy band song of the early 2000s and can recite your childhood best friend’s phone number, you might be thinking you’ll never have to worry about memory challenges.
While it’s true that a minority of Americans are officially diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, it’s probably far more common than you might expect. One in 10 American seniors are currently living with dementia, and another 22% of those 65 and older experience mild cognitive impairment—one of the early signals that more serious cognitive challenges may be on the horizon.That’s about one-third of all individuals 65 and older.
The 6 Top Nutrients for Better Brain Health
According to one study researching predictors of cognitive functioning, researchers found that a handful of less commonly cited factors account for about 38% of the cognitive function variation among Americans at age 54: personal education level, parental education, household income and wealth, race, occupation and depression status.
For this study, lead authorHui Zheng, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Sociology at Ohio State University, and his team crunched the numbers from more than 7,000 American adults born between 1931 and 1941 who had enrolled in the Health and Retirement Study.This cognition-related study includes participants' health biometrics from 1996 to 2016, and also has details about lifestyle, such as exercise, smoking status, medical diagnoses and socioeconomic factors.
Prior to this study, doctors and scientists had mainly suggested that an individual’s choices and actions matter most in maintaining cognitive functioning. This study suggests that it’s time to turn some attention to social determinants of health, too.
What Impacts Cognitive Decline?
Cognitive decline naturally occurs as we get older; it’s natural that our ability to remember details, understand, learn and think degrades slightly over time. But when it starts to impact the quality of daily life and the ability to lead a happy, healthy, secure life, that’s when a brain-related diagnosis might occur.
Family historycertainly plays a role in the risk for dementia and other cognition-related conditions, and scientists have discovered a variety of habits can also move the needle. Things that have been previously shown to reduce the risk for cognitive complications later in life include:
Getty Images
7 Sneaky Signs You Could Have Cognitive Decline, According to Experts
The Bottom Line
The brain health study found that education level, income, race and depression status, in tandem with healthy lifestyle habits, play a surprisingly large role in the potential development of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
Up Next:8 Things You Shouldn’t Do When Trying to Prevent Cognitive Decline
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!Tell us why!OtherSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
Tell us why!OtherSubmit
Tell us why!
SourcesEatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.Manly JJ, Jones RN, Langa KM, et al.Estimating the prevalence of dementia and mild cognitive impairment in the US: The 2016 Health and Retirement Study Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol Project.JAMA Neurol. 2022;79(12):1242-1249. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2022.3543Zheng H, Cagney K, Choi Y.Predictors of cognitive functioning trajectories among older Americans: A new investigation covering 20 years of age- and non-age-related cognitive change.PLoS One. 2023;18(2):e0281139. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0281139University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study.The health and retirement study.
Sources
EatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.Manly JJ, Jones RN, Langa KM, et al.Estimating the prevalence of dementia and mild cognitive impairment in the US: The 2016 Health and Retirement Study Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol Project.JAMA Neurol. 2022;79(12):1242-1249. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2022.3543Zheng H, Cagney K, Choi Y.Predictors of cognitive functioning trajectories among older Americans: A new investigation covering 20 years of age- and non-age-related cognitive change.PLoS One. 2023;18(2):e0281139. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0281139University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study.The health and retirement study.
EatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.
Manly JJ, Jones RN, Langa KM, et al.Estimating the prevalence of dementia and mild cognitive impairment in the US: The 2016 Health and Retirement Study Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol Project.JAMA Neurol. 2022;79(12):1242-1249. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2022.3543Zheng H, Cagney K, Choi Y.Predictors of cognitive functioning trajectories among older Americans: A new investigation covering 20 years of age- and non-age-related cognitive change.PLoS One. 2023;18(2):e0281139. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0281139University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study.The health and retirement study.
Manly JJ, Jones RN, Langa KM, et al.Estimating the prevalence of dementia and mild cognitive impairment in the US: The 2016 Health and Retirement Study Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol Project.JAMA Neurol. 2022;79(12):1242-1249. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2022.3543
Zheng H, Cagney K, Choi Y.Predictors of cognitive functioning trajectories among older Americans: A new investigation covering 20 years of age- and non-age-related cognitive change.PLoS One. 2023;18(2):e0281139. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0281139
University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study.The health and retirement study.
