Be healthy, wealthy and wise to avoid dementia

According to the latest research from the United States, the healthy, wealthy and well educated are less likely to suffer from memory loss and dementia as they age.

Dementia is the term used to describe the symptoms of a large group of illnesses, which cause a progressive decline in a person’s mental functioning; it is a broad term which describes a loss of memory, intellect, rationality, social skills and normal emotional reactions.

Dementia usually has an insidious onset, with most people developing symptoms gradually over a period of years.

This latest study was conducted by researchers from the Universities of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Harvard along with Group Health and it set out to determine whether recent medical, demographic and social trends might have an impact on the cognitive health of older adults.

In order to do this they used data from the Health and Retirement Study, a national survey of 11,000 older adults funded by the U.S. National Institute on Aging and based at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research.

The 11,000 individuals involved formed two nationally representative population groups, age seventy years or older, from 1993-1995 and then from 2002-2004.

The research team compared the frequency of cognitive impairment with respect to dementia and incidences of mortality and found that more years of education may have influenced the prevalence and outcomes of dementia.

It was found that the proportion of adults 65 and older with high school diplomas increased from 53 percent in 1990 to 72 percent in 2003 and the proportion with college degrees increased from 11 percent to 17 percent during the same time period.

They also found that the 1993 group had cognitive impairment (CI) 12.2 percent of the time, while the 2002 group only had CI 8.7 percent of the time.

In both groups, the presence of CI was found to increase the risk of death.

Cognitive function was tested on a 35-point scale and included counting backward, object naming, recalling the day's date, and naming the president and vice president.

They suggest that added years of education lead to higher brain development and function, better health behaviours and the "general advantages of having more wealth and social opportunities".

The researchers say their findings support the theory that the elderly have less risk of memory loss and dementia in the 2000s than they did in the 1990s because they have received better health care, are wealthier, and are better educated.

Dr. Eric Larson, a co-author of the study says the findings suggest that the onset of dementia can be delayed and prevented and suggests that societies should invest in building and maintaining cognitive reserve.

The researchers believe formal education in childhood and continued cognitive stimulation during work and leisure in adulthood, might help limit the burden of dementia among the growing number of older adults worldwide.

Today in Australia there are currently 227,300 people with dementia, with the number is expected to reach 731,000 by 2050 unless there is a medical breakthrough; there will be an estimated 57,000 new cases of dementia in 2008.

Dementia can affect younger people and it is estimated that currently over 9,600 Australians under the age of 65 have younger onset dementia.

Between 2000 and 2050, the number of people with dementia in Australia is expected to increase by 327%, while the total population increases by less than 40%.

More than 5 million Americans are estimated to be living with Alzheimer's.

The research team included social and medical scientists in addition to Group Health and the study is published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia.