A new study shows that the risk of developing dementia anytime after age 55 among Americans is 42%, more than double the risk reported by older studies.

This large study is a collaboration funded by the National Institutes of Health to NYU Langone Health and includes authors from Johns Hopkins University and other U.S. institutions. The new study relies on information gathered from the ongoing Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Neurocognitive Study (ARIC-NCS), which, since 1987, has closely tracked the vascular health and cognitive function of nearly 16,000 participants as they age. ARIC-NCS is also, the researchers say, the longest-followed cohort of African-Americans for cognition and heart health.

Publishing in the journal Nature Medicine online Jan. 13, the study concludes that from 1987 until 2020, there were 3,252 study participants who were documented as having developed dementia. This translates to an overall lifetime risk for dementia among middle-aged Americans of 42%, which is an average of the 35% risk in men and the 48% risk in women. The excess risk in women was largely due to their lower death rates.

The new results also showed a higher risk among Black adults and in those who carried a variant of the APOE4 gene (between 45% and 60%), which codes for a protein that carries cholesterol and other lipids in the bloodstream. Having a certain version of APOE4 is thought to be the single biggest genetic risk factor in developing late-onset Alzheimer's disease.

"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.

Coresh, the Terry and Mel Karmazin Professor in the Department of Population Health and a professor in the Department of Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, says the expected rise in dementia cases is partly tied to the facts that a progressive decline in brain function is often observed starting in middle age, that women overall live longer on average than men, and that about 58 million Americans are now over age 65. Among the study's other key findings was that the lifetime risk of dementia increases to over 50% among those who reach age 75.

However, previous findings from this study and others indicate that policies designed to prevent heart disease, such as blood pressure control and diabetes prevention, should also slow cognitive decline and prevent dementia.

"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.

Loss of hearing among older adults has also been tied to increased risk of dementia. However, only a third of Americans with hearing loss use hearing aids. To address this, Coresh recommends greater monitoring and testing, and possibly even government assistance programs to support healthy hearing among the elderly, including making hearing aids more widely available and affordable.

Coresh also argues that far more resources are needed to address racial inequities in health care, noting that while dementia numbers among White individuals are expected to double over the next four decades, rates among Black individuals are expected to triple. Health policies should heighten efforts in Black communities to improve childhood education and nutrition, which he says previous research has shown to be beneficial in staving off cognitive decline later in life.

For the latest analysis, researchers used data from the ARIC-NCS study and then modeled their projections of lifetime risk using information from the U.S. Census Bureau.

NYU Langone Health / NYU Grossman School of Medicine. "United States dementia cases estimated to double by 2060." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 13 January 2025. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/01/250113134046.htm>.

BRAIN HEALTH IS DIRECTLY TIED TO GUT HEALTH!

Probiotics | Friendly Fighters | Friendly Bacteria | Gout & Probiotics (goutcure.com)

Friendly Fighters Pro® Probiotic - ALTERNATIVE HEALTH RESEARCH LLC (ahr4health.net)

70% of your immune system is in your digestive tract. Do you have enough friendly bacteria to handle this task? 

Uniquely Selected Viable Strains
Enhances The Body's Natural Defenses
Guaranteed 2 Billion Cells Per Minicap*
Superior Quality - Stomach By-Pass - Low CPD
1-4 Month Supply In Each Bottle
Produces Lactase Helping Lactose Intolerance

Friendly Fighters Pro Probiotic: 30 Count
1300Regular price: $18.95Sale Price: $15.95, 2-for-$23.00, 4-for-$40.00

Friendly Fighters Pro Probiotic: 30 Count