How often do you think of how much of a gift it is to be able to remember the random items you need to add to your basket at the supermarket without a list? Or the fact that you can still sing along to every lyric from Lizzo’s first album? Or how about the memories of your last birthday, Thanksgiving—or even recalling the names of the people who joined you around the table?
For a sizable portion of Americans—for those with dementia—many or all of those tasks are a serious challenge. Three weeks ago, anew study estimated that 1 in 10 American seniors has dementia, and another 22% have mild cognitive impairment (which can progress into full-blown dementia).
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But thanks to new research published November 7, 2022, in the journalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), we might be seeing a slightly more optimistic trend in terms of our collective brain health.Dementia rates have actually been decreasing among those 65 and over, falling from 12.2% of the population in 2000 to just 8.5% in 2016.
Find out why these two studies can both be true at the same time, plus study up about how to stay sharp and be part of that positive, cognitively sharp trend.
The #1 Way to Reduce Dementia Risk—Even If You Have Family History
What This New Brain Health Report Found
To land at this conclusion, researchers tapped into data from 21,000 people who took part in theHealth and Retirement Study, a large, population-representative nationwide survey that’s been performed for 20 years. After crunching the numbers, the researchers discovered that the age-adjusted prevalence of dementia for people 65 and over in 2000 was slightly over 12%. Slightly more than 1 in 10 American older adults had dementia at that time. By 2016, this rate had fallen to 8.5%, representing a decrease of 3.7 percentage points or about 30%.
Although the rate of dementia among women participants also fell between 2000 and 2016—from 13.6% to just below 10%—women overall continue to clock in with higher rates of dementia than men (whose rates fell from about 10% to 7%). The researchers hypothesize this disparity might be related to the way estrogen impacts the brain during menopause, although more research is needed.
Higher amounts of overall education andlower rates of smokingacross the U.S. may be a factor in this collective decrease in dementia prevalence, but it’s tough to pinpoint the exact cause for dementia. In most cases, it’s a melting pot of risk factors, and can include high blood pressure,inactivity, a diet low in whole foods, poor sleep and more.
Because we’re living longer. There’s a greater number of Americans who are living to old age than in generations past (which is great news!), which means that portion of seniors now makes up a larger part of our overall American population.
How to Reduce Your Risk for Dementia
Regardless of the exact number of people with dementia or the prevalence percentage, the most important thing to take away from this story is that part of your dementia risk is within your control. Genetic factors certainly affect our brain health—and our total chronic disease risk—but our daily habits play a large role as well.
Since it’s impossible to rewrite our family history, and scientists are still searching for a cure for dementia, it’s wise to focus on modifiable risk factors, or the lifestyle habits that are within our control and have been proven to be related to brain health.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association’srisk reductionandpreventionguides, here are 10 healthy strategies that can help boost your brain:
The Bottom Line
No matter your gender identity or genetics, integrating healthy lifestyle habits can help reduce your risk for dementia and bolster your brainpower.
Up Next:Have a Family History of Dementia or Alzheimer’s? Here’s How to Protect Your Brain as You Age
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