Are Dementia Rates Declining?

Dementia is a disorder of the mental processes that is caused by brain disease or injury and is linked to memory problems, personality changes and impaired reasoning. Since individuals are living longer than they did in the past, our population of elderly people is increasing. This has created the belief in many that the rates of dementia would start to rise significantly. However, studies suggest that Dementia rates in the United States and around the world are decreasing. An observational study posted by the Jama Internal Medicine Network of more than 21,000 Americans age 65 or older found that dementia rates have fallen by 24% in the last 12 years. Other studies have also found that individuals who do get dementia are starting to get it at older ages. Though the exact reasons for this decline have not been determined as of yet, scientists and researchers across the nation have agreed that this is very positive news and are working to discover what factors could be causing this significant drop.