A person from 75 to 80 has less chance of dementia nowadays compared to someone of the same age a few decades ago, according to a study from the University of Queensland.
UQ researchers analyzed data from more than 62,000 people older than 70 years who were born from 1890 to 1948 to determine whether there were generation differences in the prevalence of dementia.
Dr. Sabrina Lenses from UQs Center for the Business and Economics of Health said they were probably improvements in cardiovascular health, education, living conditions and access to health care contributed to the findings.
“We often see statistics that show that the prevalence rates of dementia are increasing – our study does not refute that.
As more people live longer, the total number of people will grow diagnosis of dementia.
What we found was a statistically significant deterioration of people from more recent birth cohorts with dementia. “
Dr. Sabrina Lenses from UQ’s Center for the Business and Economics of Health
PHD -Student Xiaoxue Dou collaborated with Dr. Lenses to analyze data from 62,437 people, including 21,069 from the US, 32,490 from Europe and 8,878 from England.
Participants were divided into 8 birth cohorts and 6 age groups.
Cohorten were about grouped in blocks of 5 birth, with the earliest including people born between 1890-1913 and the most recent 1944-1948.
The 6 age groups were 71-75, 76-80, 81-85, 86-90, 91-95 and 96 and older.
“This enabled us to investigate how dementia prevalence changes with age and generations, while taking into account when the surveys were carried out,” Dr. said. Lenses.
She said that the results consistently demonstrated that people more recently had less chance of dementia, also in the US, where 25.1 percent of people aged 81-85 who were born between 1890-1913 compared to 15.5 percent of those born between 1939-1943.
“There has been a lot of improvement in education – especially for women if we compare with the baby orbiting generation,” said Dr. Lenses.
“We have seen improvements in cardiovascular health, better control of blood pressure and cholesterol – all risk factors for dementia.
“We see this strong correlation between age and dementia, but I think it is really important to understand that it is not just age to control that start.”
Dr. Lenses said that although the results provided some hope, there was a need for continuous investments in public health campaigns.
“Some of the risk factors have improved, but we have seen a shift in terms of high obesity rates and things like air pollution,” she said.
“We know that they are also related to dementia, so it is not certain whether these trends will continue.”
The Research was published in Jama Network Open.
Source:
Journal Reference:
Dou, X., et Alt Alto. (2025). Generation differences in the prevalence percentages of age -specific dementia. Jama Network Open. doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.13384.