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Brighter Odds of Beating Memory Loss
Baby boomers may be
less likely than previous generations to develop
severe memory loss after 70.
By Miranda Hitti
WebMD Medical News
The
chance of avoiding severe memory loss after age 70
may be better than you think.
"This is good news for aging baby boomers," Kenneth
Langa, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine at
the University of Michigan and the Ann Arbor VA
Health System, tells WebMD.
Langa's team studied cognitive impairment among
people aged 70 and older in the U.S. not living in
nursing homes or other institutions. The researchers
defined cognitive impairment as memory loss on a
scale similar to that seen in dementia -- not mild
memory loss.
For
the study, some 7,400 people took memory tests in
1993. About 7,100 other people took the same tests
in 2002.
"What we found is that the risk for someone who was
70 and older in 1993 of having impaired cognition
was higher than the risk for someone in that same
age group in 2002," says Langa.
Schooling, Heart Health
The
study doesn't show why serious memory loss was less
likely among the later generation. But Langa's team
has some theories.
"We
think the decrease in the risk that people would
become significantly impaired or get dementia is due
to a few things: the significant increase in
education level between the two cohorts and also
likely a better job of treating cardiovascular risks
like hypertension and high cholesterol," says Langa.
In
short, more education may help keep the brain sharp,
and tending to heart health can be good for the
brain. Other factors also affect brain health; Langa
and colleagues didn't have data on all of those
factors.
Big Picture
The
findings are all about individual risk. But even
with a lower individual risk, Langa foresees a rise
in Alzheimer's and other dementia cases.
That's because our population is aging. About 80
million baby boomers will reach age 70 in the next
eight or 10 years, and with an aging population,
"there's going to be a large increase in the number
of people with Alzheimer's disease and dementia,
even with a decreased (individual) risk," says Langa.
That
is, individual risk may be lower than in the past,
but there are many more individuals, so the net
result is more cases. Last year, another report
predicted that Alzheimer's cases will triple by
2050.
Langa notes that further studies are needed on
cognitive impairment among people in nursing homes.
Meanwhile, Langa's current study appears online in
Alzheimer's & Dementia.
©
WebMD. All rights reserved.
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"there's going to be a large increase in the
number of people with Alzheimer's disease and
dementia, even with a decreased (individual)
risk." |
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