Health, wealth seem not to affect dementia risk

The incidence of dementia does not appear to be influenced by social background or health status, at least in the UK, the results of a study from the Medical Research Council (MRC) has shown.

MRC researchers interviewed and followed 13,000 people from five ethnically uniform sites, ranging from wealthy Cambridge in the east of England to deprived Newcastle in the north, and found that that “health and wealth does not affect the incidence of dementia in England and Wales.”

Carol Brayne, co-author and professor of public health medicine at the University of Cambridge said: ‘‘Unlike many chronic diseases, the rates of new developments of dementia across England and Wales do not seem to be influenced by factors such as health.’‘

Brayne said this may be because the moderate differences in lifestyle observed between differing social groups in the UK may not be large enough to increase the risk of dementia.

The researchers estimate that 163,000 new cases of dementia occur in England and Wales each year. Between the ages of 75 and 79, dementia will occur in 1 in 70 people per year. In those over 85—the fastest growing group in the UK—this rises to 1 in 15, the study found.

The Cognitive Function and Ageing (CFA) study of over 65-year-olds started in the early 1990’s and used follow-up interviews to establish rates of dementia. Researchers said the data provide a useful tool for planning services but more research is needed to establish if the incidence of dementia is rising or falling.

The full study can be found at http://www.plos.org/journals.