Do you worry about getting dementia in later life, because it’s so prevalent? Well, here’s a shocker.
Only 2% of the American population gets dementia. You probably thought it was around 25, 30, maybe even 50%, right? Because we hear about it so often, and it’s admittedly overwhelming for the people who have it and their loved ones. But still. 2%?
And that small percentage has dropped by almost half in the past fifty years, from 3.5% in the 1970s, according to a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Now, it’s true that the numbers are up, because there are more old people hanging around. But you’re less likely to get it than people born a couple generations ago.
So if 98% of us won’t get dementia, why do we freak out every time we forget something?
We have been sold a bill of goods. We’ve been told to expect dain bramage (as my piano teacher calls it) in later life, but it seems that this isn’t a huge probability. If you were told there was a 2% chance of rain, would you cancel the picnic?
I don’t mean to minimize the reality of dementia. It’s poorly understood and frequently misdiagnosed, it can be devastating to those who have it and their loved ones, there is no cure on the horizon, and the amount of money spent on research by the federal government is laughable.
Although it was a relief to read the article, my immediate reaction was anger. In fact, I was so mad I was practically yelling, until Bill said, “So this is good news, right?” And I had to apologize and we both laughed at my attitude. But it pisses me off, because there’s a ton of evidence that the more bad stuff you believe about getting older, the more it affects your health as you age. Those negative beliefs can shorten your life by 7.5 years.
Part of the reason dementia rates are dropping is because heart health and care is improving. However, obesity is one of the factors that can increase your chances. In case we needed more reason to eat less and exercise more.
So that’s the good news, and I apologize for all the yelling.
I read this a little late. My father’s dementia and institutionalization in January has caused a cascade of issues we’ve been working on in my family. Good thing we saw this coming a couple of years ago.
I know that I have been terribly depressed at the thought that my father’s fate will probably be mine next. I so very much appreciated the article that suggests it may not be inevitable. I am on NO medication, I have phenomenal cholesterol numbers, I exercise regularly, I eat very low carbs–in so many ways I am the opposite of my father at this age–so perhaps I will be one of the next generation to avoid it. I can hope!
On a related note, I listened to a podcast (Fresh Air) recently in which a neurologist, Dr. Frances Jensen, spoke about something she calls “the dementia of the preoccupied.” This is my form of dementia. It’s comforting to be able to name something, especially when the name takes the scary out of common old ordinary for-real dementia! My job is to become more present in the moment, less preoccupied.
Thank you for posting this, Lynne. I am feeling better already.
Hi Jan. I am sorry about your dad. What a struggle for him and for the whole family. Such a scary disease. I’m sure you are a comfort to him, but you have to take care of yourself, too. I hope you’re doing that.
There are some reasons to feel that it’s not necessarily true that dementia in a parent will indicate same in offspring. In particular, you can build up cognitive reserve such that even if you get dementia, you won’t be debilitated by it until the very end; you can stave it off until either something else ends your life, or if and when it does hit, the decline is very sharp and brief. In fact, the Nun Study added significant support to this hypothesis. You can read more here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3135666/
Also, let me say that we now know that new brain cells can be generated, as opposed to what was originally thought. Brain cells tend to generate in the area of the hippocampus, which is good because that’s the area most affected by dementia. Lastly, the three things most likely to generate growth of brain cells are exercise, socializing with other humans, and learning something new and challenging.
(I’m not a doctor but I play one on my blog.)
Very best wishes, my friend.
I don’t worry about dementia. I have had it for years. I think my brain cells started dying the day my first baby popped out. tee hee
They tend to do that!
Don’t get too comfortable. According to the 2012 census, 4% (not 2%) of the entire population has dementia, but, obviously, its incidence rises dramatically with age. 43% of Americans between the ages of 75 and 84, and 38% of Americans over the age of 85, have some form of dementia. This is our parents’ generation, and Boomers will experience lower rates, largely due to advances in cardiac care. Your interpretation of (dubious) statistics is not good news, just bad math.
Actually, in 2007 the numbers were lower than you quote, per research reported by the National Institutes of Health. And the numbers are purported to have dropped since then. I can’t explain the discrepancy except to suggest that a census is self-reporting, as opposed to medical research and analysis.
“The prevalence of dementia among individuals aged 71 and older was 13.9%, comprising about 3.4 million individuals in the USA in 2002. The corresponding values for AD were 9.7% and 2.4 million individuals. Dementia prevalence increased with age, from 5.0% of those aged 71–79 years to 37.4% of those aged 90 and older.” (2007)
This more recent study was even more encouraging: “Rates of dementia in the new study decreased from 3.6% during the late 1970s and early 1980s to 2% during the late 2000s and early 2010s, a drop of 44%, according to the study published online Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine.”
And as you said, Boomers should be healthier if we follow the good health information we now know so much more about than did our parents.
Whichever statistics you use, it is still incorrect to say that you, me or anyone has a 2% chance of developing dementia, when in fact every individual’s chances rise dramatically in old age. Whatever the incidence in the entire population (which includes infants, children, healthy adults, etc.) — let’s say, as The Alzheimer’s Association does, citing the 2014 census, 4% — that 4% is not predictive for any individual or group within that population. It’s just a head count.
We gotta try not to sweat the (in this case-2%) small stuff. And we all are guilty to some extent of laughing at ourselves or others for their forgetfulness. My brother always tells me he has CRS. It stands for can’t remember s—t.
You know the saying, “don’t sweat the small stuff, and it’s all small stuff.” The older I get, and the more I see of life, the more I value the ability to distract myself. Some of it’s small stuff, but some of it, as you know, my friend, isn’t small at all. Yet we learn to keep moving forward. So, dementia is a problem, but we’re not half as worried about heart disease, which is the #1 killer of women. We have a 25% chance of dying from that!
My doctor once told me all deaths are caused by heart attacks because, in the end, the heart stopping is what makes us die. And speaking of hearts…….Have a wonderful Valentines Day!!!
Awww, you too, Sis!
That was a very reassuring article! I’m sure anyone who read it was tremendously relieved! Like you, I felt “taken” by all of the hype. Makes you wonder who gains when facts are misrepresented in this way. Possibly the media, loving to shock, as they do!
According to a book I’m reading, it’s primarily Big Pharma. Big surprise, eh? But the causes of “dementia” aren’t so easily found. For example, two very reversible versions of confusion can be dehydration or improper medication. But BP won’t make any money from that fix.