A Comparison of the Prevalence of Dementia in the United States in 2000 and 2012

Abstract

Dementia, a decline in memory and other cognitive functions that leads to a loss of independent function, is a common and feared geriatric syndrome that affects an estimated 4 to 5 million older adults in the United States¹ and has a large social and economic impact on patients, families, and government programs.² Although the number of older adults with dementia in the United States and around the world is expected to grow up to 3-fold by 2050 owing to the large increase in the size of the elderly population,³ recent studies suggest that the age-specific risk of dementia may have actually declined in some high-income countries over the past 25 years, perhaps owing to increasing levels of education and better control of key cardiovascular risk factors, such as hypertension, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia.^4-6 For instance, the incidence of dementia among older participants in the Framingham Heart Study declined by about 20% per decade between 1977 and 2008, and the decline in risk was seen only among those with at least a high school education.⁷