Although dementia and mild cognitive impairment are known to be common in the United States, accurate, up-to-date measures of their national prevalence were scarce.
In a study from Columbia University and elsewhere, scientists found that nearly one in 10 United States. adults over age 65 have dementia.
They also found that another 22% have mild cognitive impairment. People with dementia and mild cognitive impairment are more likely to be older, have lower levels of education, and to be racialized as Black or Hispanic.
Men and women have similar rates of dementia and mild cognitive impairment.
In the study, researchers used data from 3,500 individuals in the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol Project.
Between 2016 and 2017, each participant completed a comprehensive set of neuropsychological tests and in-depth interviews, which were used to develop an algorithm for diagnosing dementia or mild cognitive impairment.
The team found rates of dementia and mild cognitive impairment rose sharply with age: three percent of people between 65 and 69 had dementia, rising to 35% for people aged 90 and over.
The team says with increasing longevity and the aging of the Baby Boom generation, cognitive impairment is projected to increase significantly over the next few decades, affecting individuals, families and programs that provide care and services for people with dementia.
The economic impact of dementia, including unpaid family caregiving, is estimated to cost $257 billion per year in the United States and $800 billion worldwide.
Unlike previous large studies of dementia in the United States, participants in the current study are representative of older adults, and the researchers could examine differences in the national prevalence of dementia and mild cognitive impairment by age, race and ethnicity, gender and education.
The data show a disproportionate burden of dementia among older adults who self-identified as Black or African American, of mild cognitive impairment among older adults who identify as Hispanic, and both categories of cognitive impairment among people who had fewer opportunities to obtain an education.
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The study was conducted by Kenneth Langa et al and published in JAMA Neurology.
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