https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/03/heal ... -care.html (Behind the NYT paywall.)
I’ve followed Ms. Span’s writing for years, including her book “When The Time Comes” on long-term care. She’s written for the NYT for decades— she’s in her 70s and may be closer to 80.
This latest reporting certainly suits my confirmation bias.
Here’s a few excerpts:
“The latest modifiable risk factor was identified in a study of vision impairment in the United States that was published recently in JAMA Neurology. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, the researchers estimated that about 62 percent of current dementia cases could have been prevented across risk factors and that 1.8 percent — about 100,000 cases — could have been prevented through healthy vision.”
“The influential Lancet Commission began leading the modifiable risk factor movement in 2017. A panel of doctors, epidemiologists and public health experts reviewed and analyzed hundreds of high-quality studies to identify nine risk factors accounting for much of the world’s dementia: high blood pressure, lower education levels, impaired hearing, smoking, obesity, depression, physical inactivity, diabetes and low levels of social contact.
In 2020, the commission added three more: excessive alcohol consumption, traumatic brain injuries and air pollution. The commission calculated that 40 percent of dementia cases worldwide could theoretically be prevented or delayed if those factors were eliminated.”
“In fact, in wealthier countries, “it’s already happening as people get more education and smoke less,” she pointed out. Because the odds of dementia increase with age, as more people reach older ages, the number of dementia cases keeps rising. But the proportions are dropping in Europe and North America, where the incidence of dementia has fallen by 13 percent per decade over the past 25 years.”