Despite fears that dementia rates would rise as the population began to age, a recent survey published by JAMA Internal Medicine suggests the opposite. Those that do get dementia, however, are getting it at older and older ages. The survey reports that dementia rates in Americans sixty-five and older fell by over 24% over twelve years. This particular survey was far more encompassing of the general population, surveying all races, education levels, and income levels. Surprisingly, the years of education an individual had was correlated with decreased dementia risk. The decline found in the survey is consistent with a long-term trend, but over the next few decades, the total number of people with dementia should rise but not as much as had been estimated.
See Gina Kolata, U.S. Dementia Rates Are Dropping Even as Population Ages, N.Y. Times, November 21, 2016.
Special thanks to Lewis Saret (Attorney, Washington, D.C.) & Naomi Cahn (Harold H. Greene Professor of Law, George Washington University School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.
