Which one in ten Americans over the age of 65 has dementia, estimates a recent study. In addition, information processing has weakened in 22 percent of people over the age of 65.
Thus, according to the study, about one-third of Americans over the age of 65 either have dementia or their information processing has weakened.
For research nearly 3,500 people participated, representing the US population. The participants were given an hour-long neuropsychological test at home. In addition to that, they were interviewed for twenty minutes.
The average age of the participants was 76 years.
Score are in line with previous studies conducted in the United States. For example, published the other year research estimates that 11 percent of people over the age of 65 have the most common memory disease, Alzheimer’s disease.
A recent study found no differences between the sexes in the prevalence of dementia and impaired information processing.
Education, on the other hand, protected against dementia and deterioration of cognitive function, i.e. information processing.
Every additional year of study after basic education is reflected in a lower risk of dementia, writes a professor of neuropsychology at Columbia University Jennifer Manley with colleagues in the scientific journal Jama Neurology, which published the study.
The same result has been obtained in numerous previous studies: low education increases the probability of memory disease.
Read more: Already the lifestyles of youth and middle age affect the risk of dementia – These are the 12 most common factors
In addition dementia was more common in black participants compared to whites. On the other hand, participants with a Spanish background had more impairment in information processing.
Researchers do not offer a clear explanation for the differences between ethnic groups. This aspect has only been investigated a little in population surveys.
The recent study is part of the University of Michigan’s National Health and Retirement Survey HRS, which has been conducted since 1992.
Itthat every third person over the age of 65 has either dementia or impaired information processing suddenly sounds like a big number, says neurologist, professor Juha Rinne from the University of Turku.
“The average age of the subjects was quite high, and it is known that memory problems and memory disorders clearly increase with age. This may affect the observed frequency of memory problems,” he estimates.
in Finland no real large-scale population survey has been done on the matter for a long time, says Rinne.
Estimates of the prevalence of memory disorders among Finns have still been prepared.
of the Käypä treatment recommendation for memory disorders According to
In addition, there are 100,000 people living in Finland with symptoms of mild dementia and 93,000 with at least moderate dementia.
In total, there are therefore up to 393,000 residents in Finland who either have symptoms of dementia or their information processing has weakened.
When the number of working-age dementia sufferers, estimated at 7,000 people, is subtracted from this, the figure for those over 65 is 386,000.
Lived in Finland According to Statistics Finland at the end of last year, about 1,280,000 people over the age of 65.
Calculated in this way, 30 percent of the Finnish population over the age of 65 would have either symptoms of dementia or impaired information processing.
“There calculated in the same way, it is pretty much the same as what has been observed in the United States,” says Rinne, who led the Käypä hoito working group for memory disorders.
He points out that the definition of mild cognitive impairment includes a wide variety of cases. Not everyone develops a memory disorder. According to Rinne, the criterion for weakening in a recent study was rather loose.
“For some people, mild cognitive impairment can stay the same and not progress terribly. In others, it progresses to a memory disorder, and in others it can even improve, because in principle, a mild cognitive impairment can be caused, for example, by inappropriate medication or mood problems.”
in Eastern Finland in the 1990s in the study one in three people over 65 reported suffering from memory symptoms.
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