New research reveals that the risk of developing dementia among Americans at any time after age 55 is 42%, more than double the risk reported by older studies. Additionally, the lifetime risk of dementia increases progressively with age. The findings from the study were recently published in Nature Medicine. The study featured a collaboration between 10 universities with Michael Fang, Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University serving as the lead author.
What the research uncovered
The research, the result of a four-decade, community-based study, illustrates that most of the dementia risk occurs after 75 and increases further as people reach age 95.
“Seeing how the risk laid out by age provided a lot of important information,” shares Josef Coresh, MD, Ph.D., founding director of the Optimal Aging Institute at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and a senior author on the study. “The data showed, if we start at age 55 without dementia, there was a 4% risk by age 75, 20% by age 85, and then the decade from 85 to 95 showed more than half the risk. Therefore, we need to think of this as a very late life major risk.”
Additionally, the rates of dementia were substantially higher in women, Black adults and genetic carriers, with lifetime risks ranging from approximately 45-60% in these populations.
If the projections of the research come to fruition, dementia cases would double by 2060 from 514,000 in 2020 to one million new cases a year. This is consistent with other studies that show people living with dementia in the U.S. will increase from six million in 2020 to 14 million by 2060.
“My hope is that this information creates a sobering sense of urgency, and that we, as a society and as individuals, need to be ready for the magnitude of this as our population continues to age,” explains Dr. Coresh. “Partnerships between individuals, their family, their community and healthcare providers are important as we move forward to be able to effectively deal with this as a society. It’s also crucial to realize that there are things that can be done to reduce the risk of dementia.”
Minimize your risk through prevention
It’s never too early or too late to lower your risk for dementia.
“Approximately 50% of dementia can be prevented, and the Lancet Commission on dementia lists proven ways to reduce your risk,” says Dr. Coresh. “Optimizing your cardiovascular health and preserving hearing are critically important.”
The Lancet Commission outlines 14 risk factors and offers tips to address those risks. Ideally, you should work to decrease your risk factor levels early and maintain them throughout the various stages of your life.
“Risk can be minimized throughout life – starting with education in early life, managing diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol in midlife, and addressing hearing and vision loss later in life,” shares Dr. Coresh. “As a society, we can also continue to work on ways to reduce social isolation. For older adults, senior centers are an important piece to this puzzle.”
By being physically active throughout your life, you can help address many cardiovascular risk factors. It’s also important to limit alcohol and not smoke.
“My view of prevention is behavior changes and medication, as needed,” explains Dr. Coresh. “There are many medications available that are highly effective and can be used to treat some of the dementia risk factors, particularly for diabetes, high cholesterol and hypertension.”
Digging deeper with further research
With the discovery of more than half of dementia risk occurring between 85 and 95 years of age, it’s imperative that this research continues in order to develop more detailed prevention and treatment strategies for this population.
“Risk factors haven’t been as clearly defined for those who develop late-onset dementia and more information is needed,” shares Dr. Coresh. “We are continuing our research with the participants from our initial cohort who are 80 years of age and older. Our goal is to evaluate a variety of inputs including biospecimens, brain imaging and body composition to better understand these risk factors and to measure the effectiveness of therapies for this age group.”
You can also make a difference to further Alzheimer’s and dementia research. Share the Alzheimer’s Prevention Registry with friends and family. Many prevention studies are looking for healthy adults so please check out the latest studies listed on the Registry.
What the research uncovered
The research, the result of a four-decade, community-based study, illustrates that most of the dementia risk occurs after 75 and increases further as people reach age 95.
“Seeing how the risk laid out by age provided a lot of important information,” shares Josef Coresh, MD, Ph.D., founding director of the Optimal Aging Institute at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and a senior author on the study. “The data showed, if we start at age 55 without dementia, there was a 4% risk by age 75, 20% by age 85, and then the decade from 85 to 95 showed more than half the risk. Therefore, we need to think of this as a very late life major risk.”
Additionally, the rates of dementia were substantially higher in women, Black adults and genetic carriers, with lifetime risks ranging from approximately 45-60% in these populations.
If the projections of the research come to fruition, dementia cases would double by 2060 from 514,000 in 2020 to one million new cases a year. This is consistent with other studies that show people living with dementia in the U.S. will increase from six million in 2020 to 14 million by 2060.
“My hope is that this information creates a sobering sense of urgency, and that we, as a society and as individuals, need to be ready for the magnitude of this as our population continues to age,” explains Dr. Coresh. “Partnerships between individuals, their family, their community and healthcare providers are important as we move forward to be able to effectively deal with this as a society. It’s also crucial to realize that there are things that can be done to reduce the risk of dementia.”
Minimize your risk through prevention
It’s never too early or too late to lower your risk for dementia.
“Approximately 50% of dementia can be prevented, and the Lancet Commission on dementia lists proven ways to reduce your risk,” says Dr. Coresh. “Optimizing your cardiovascular health and preserving hearing are critically important.”
The Lancet Commission outlines 14 risk factors and offers tips to address those risks. Ideally, you should work to decrease your risk factor levels early and maintain them throughout the various stages of your life.
“Risk can be minimized throughout life – starting with education in early life, managing diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol in midlife, and addressing hearing and vision loss later in life,” shares Dr. Coresh. “As a society, we can also continue to work on ways to reduce social isolation. For older adults, senior centers are an important piece to this puzzle.”
By being physically active throughout your life, you can help address many cardiovascular risk factors. It’s also important to limit alcohol and not smoke.
“My view of prevention is behavior changes and medication, as needed,” explains Dr. Coresh. “There are many medications available that are highly effective and can be used to treat some of the dementia risk factors, particularly for diabetes, high cholesterol and hypertension.”
Digging deeper with further research
With the discovery of more than half of dementia risk occurring between 85 and 95 years of age, it’s imperative that this research continues in order to develop more detailed prevention and treatment strategies for this population.
“Risk factors haven’t been as clearly defined for those who develop late-onset dementia and more information is needed,” shares Dr. Coresh. “We are continuing our research with the participants from our initial cohort who are 80 years of age and older. Our goal is to evaluate a variety of inputs including biospecimens, brain imaging and body composition to better understand these risk factors and to measure the effectiveness of therapies for this age group.”
You can also make a difference to further Alzheimer’s and dementia research. Share the Alzheimer’s Prevention Registry with friends and family. Many prevention studies are looking for healthy adults so please check out the latest studies listed on the Registry.
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