1 in 7 Americans Age 71 & Older Has Dementia: NIH study

clipped from www.nia.nih.gov A new analysis suggests that about 3.4 million Americans age 71 and older—one in seven people in that age group—have dementia, and 2.4 million of them have Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The study, supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is the latest in a series of analyses attempting to assess the prevalence of dementia and AD, the most common form of dementia. Published online this week in Neuroepidemiology, the study is the first to estimate rates of dementia and AD using a nationally representative sample of older adults across the United States The study highlights the nationwide reach of dementia, which affects not only those with the disease, but their families and communities as well. NIA experts point out, the numbers of people with dementia, and Alzheimer’s specifically, will certainly increase until ways to delay the progression or prevent the dementia are found. Advancing age is the most common known risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease

As this affects not only those with dementia, but their families and communities as well, we need to get busy and find ways to delay progression or prevent dementia--ways other than increasing our chances of dying young via promoting & provoking war, ignoring malnutrition and stressing our children to the point of suicide...