CNN
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Seniors living in the eastern and southeastern regions of the United States are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, according to new data shared at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference and published Monday in the organization’s journal.
That report Provides the first estimate of the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease in the United States at the district level. The researchers used data from thousands of people who participated in the Chicago Health and Aging Project to assess demographic risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease — including age, gender, and ethnicity — and compared them with an array of US states.
These demographic estimates show that rates of Alzheimer’s disease are highest in Miami-Dade County, Baltimore, and the Bronx—where one in six seniors has the disease. Maryland has the highest prevalence rate statewide, followed by New York and Mississippi.
Experts say the findings may be useful in helping public health leaders and organizations better support the millions of people living with the disease – and plan for an aging population.
“Having this information is very helpful because I think it increases the urgency of the work we do,” said Dr. Halima Amjad, geriatrician at Johns Hopkins Medicine and chairman of the Maryland State Alzheimer’s Council. Did not participate in research.
“For dementia, a lot of care and support – through legislation or programs – is often provided at the state and local levels, not at the national level,” said Amjad. Last year, he said, was the first year that the state of Maryland’s budget made a special appropriation focused on dementia care, about $3.5 million. “So we need that focus, through planning at the public health level and supporting that planning with financial resources, to increase the care and support available.”
Using demographic risk factors to estimate the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease can help capture the full burden of the disease better than is found in medical records.
“Half or even more than half of people with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia are not diagnosed,” said Amjad. “Why that happened is very complicated. Sometimes individuals and families don’t recognize it as dementia. Confused with normal aging. And we know doctors don’t always ask about it, so it only comes up when the family brings it up. And doctors may be reluctant to make and share diagnoses.” “.
The risk of Alzheimer’s disease increases significantly with age. According to the report, people aged 75 to 79 are almost three times more likely to get the disease than those aged 65 to 69, and the rate is about 15 times higher among those aged 85 and over.
The rate among black seniors is about 13% higher than among the elderly, and the rate among black elders is 2.5 times higher than among white elders.
James McGill, an assistant commissioner at the Baltimore Department of Health who leads the city’s Alzheimer’s program, said the estimates weren’t too surprising.
“This is a majority-black city, and at the root of all of this is segregation in the urban environment that goes back decades,” he said. Lack of access to health care, healthy food, walkable environments, and more health disparities have contributed to chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure, which can exacerbate the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
“Research seems to show that dementia is increasingly associated with a healthy lifestyle, so you really have to get it down to the environmental level,” says McGill. This communication within the community can help individuals understand and access the resources available to them to reduce their risk.
“Having data at the community level helps us educate people in those communities and helps us make that happen,” he says.
2023-07-17 16:44:41
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