The increase in life expectancy and the aging of the population raise fears within the scientific community, which considers that one in three children born today will suffer from dementia later.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are 47.5 million people worldwide with dementia (i.e. Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders) and predictions for future decades are from 75.6 million in 2030 to 135.5 million in 2050.
However, this concern seems to have been overcome by a new study carried out jointly by researchers from the Bordeaux School of Public Health and those from Boston University (United States). This study published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementiasuggests that the rate of appearance of new cases of dementia is decreasing. Looking at four distinct time periods (1970-1979, 1980-1989, 1990-1999, 2000-2009), the researchers found a gradual decline in the incidence of dementia at any age, with an average reduction of 20% every ten years.
A notable decrease in dementia due to vascular diseases
They also found that this decline was more pronounced for dementia due to vascular diseaseswhich illustrates the importance of effective treatment strokes and heart disease prevention measures.
“Currently, there is no effective treatment to prevent or cure Madness. However, our study offers hope that some cases will be preventable – or at least delayed – through prevention“explained Dr. Sudha Seshadri, professor of neurology at Boston University School of Medicine and lead author of the study.
However, the authors concede that the people studied are overwhelmingly of European descent and that further studies are needed to generalize their finding to other populations.
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