Dementia risk for people 55 and older has doubled, new study finds
Dementia cases in the U.S. are expected to double by 2060, with an estimated one million people diagnosed per year, according to a new study led by Johns Hopkins University and other institutions.
Researchers found that Americans’ risk of developing dementia after age 55 is 42%, double the risk that has been identified in prior studies, a press release stated.
For those who reach 75 years of age, the lifetime risk exceeds 50%, the study found.
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Women face a 48% average risk and men have a 35% risk, with the discrepancy attributed to women living longer than men.
The study, which was published in the journal Nature Medicine on Jan. 13, analyzed data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Neurocognitive Study (ARIC-NCS), which has tracked the cognitive and vascular health of nearly 16,000 adults since 1987.
Aging is the biggest risk factor for dementia, with other factors including genetics, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, unhealthy diets, sedentary lifestyles and mental health disorders, the release said.
Dementia risk was found to be higher among people who have a variant of the APOE4 gene, which has been linked to late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Black adults also have a higher risk.
"Our study results forecast a dramatic rise in the burden from dementia in the United States over the coming decades, with one in two Americans expected to experience cognitive difficulties after age 55," said study senior investigator and epidemiologist Josef Coresh, MD, PhD, who serves as the founding director of the Optimal Aging Institute at NYU Langone, in the release.
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Research has shown that the same interventions used to prevent heart disease risk could also prevent or slow down dementia, the study suggested.
"The pending population boom in dementia cases poses significant challenges for health policymakers in particular, who must refocus their efforts on strategies to minimize the severity of dementia cases, as well as plans to provide more health care services for those with dementia," said Coresh.
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The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers for additional comment.