Dementia Risk Declines, And Education May Be One Reason Why

"Some encouraging news in the battle against Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia: The rate at which older Americans are getting these conditions is declining. That's according to a study published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine. Researchers say one reason for the improved outlook is an increase in education."

"The study used data gathered in two snapshots, one in 2000 and another in 2012, that each looked at more than 10,000 Americans who were at least 65 years old. In the first snapshot, 11.6 percent of them had some form of dementia. In the second snapshot, it was 8.8 percent."

"Put in more human terms, 'that's well over a million people who don't have dementia, who would have had it if the rates had stayed the same as 2000 rates,' says John Haaga, who directs the Division of Behavioral and Social Research at the National Institute on Aging, which funded the study."