A new study estimates that yearly dementia incidence will reach one million cases a year by 2060 in adults in the United States.
Particularly, women and Black adults are at the highest risk, according to the study published in Nature Medicine.
Currently, yearly dementia cases are estimated at about half of the 2060 number. The authors call for an updated strategy to address health equity.
NYU Langone Health published a press release about the study. NYU Langone’s Josef Coresh, MD, PhD, study senior investigator and epidemiologist said that the results show one in every two Americans are “expected to experience cognitive difficulties after age 55.” Additionally, “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 percent among those who reach age 75.”
Preventive methods for dementia risk factors like heart disease and hearing loss were recommended in the release.
