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23/08/2005
Health and wealth do not reduce dementia risk, study warns
Improved health and mortality are not likely to protect against the risk of developing dementia, a new study from the Medical Research Council has claimed.
The study, which involved more than 13,000 over-65s in five different areas across England and Wales, concluded that there was “no convincing evidence” of variation in dementia rates across England and Wales.
The study suggests that there is no less risk of developing dementia for those who live in more affluent areas, with improved health and longer life expectancy, than those who live in poorer areas.
Dementia affects around 550,000 people in the UK. Incidence rates rise with age in both men and women. One in 70 people aged between 75-79 will develop dementia in any given year, while for those aged 85 and above, the incidence rate rises to 1 in 15.
The over-85s is also the age group, which is expected to increase most over the next decade.
The study estimates that approximately 163,000 new cases of dementia occur in England and Wales each year.
Professor Carol Brayne, Professor of Public Health Medicine at the Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, and one of the authors of the report said: “Unlike with many chronic diseases, the rates of new development of dementia across England and Wales do not seem to be influenced by factors such as health and overall mortality. This could be because the moderate lifestyle differences and variation in mortality across England and Wales are not sufficiently great to influence the incidence of dementia, whereas in many parts of the world, the differences in incidence of dementia between countries are sufficiently large to be easily detectable.”
Dr Fiona Matthews, Senior Research Scientist at the MRC Biostatistics Unit and co-author of the study, said: “One quarter of people aged 85 and over suffer from dementia. This new research will help those planning services for people with dementia to estimate requirements now and in the future. However, more research is needed to find out if the incidence of dementia in the UK is rising or falling.”
(KMcA/SP)
The study, which involved more than 13,000 over-65s in five different areas across England and Wales, concluded that there was “no convincing evidence” of variation in dementia rates across England and Wales.
The study suggests that there is no less risk of developing dementia for those who live in more affluent areas, with improved health and longer life expectancy, than those who live in poorer areas.
Dementia affects around 550,000 people in the UK. Incidence rates rise with age in both men and women. One in 70 people aged between 75-79 will develop dementia in any given year, while for those aged 85 and above, the incidence rate rises to 1 in 15.
The over-85s is also the age group, which is expected to increase most over the next decade.
The study estimates that approximately 163,000 new cases of dementia occur in England and Wales each year.
Professor Carol Brayne, Professor of Public Health Medicine at the Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, and one of the authors of the report said: “Unlike with many chronic diseases, the rates of new development of dementia across England and Wales do not seem to be influenced by factors such as health and overall mortality. This could be because the moderate lifestyle differences and variation in mortality across England and Wales are not sufficiently great to influence the incidence of dementia, whereas in many parts of the world, the differences in incidence of dementia between countries are sufficiently large to be easily detectable.”
Dr Fiona Matthews, Senior Research Scientist at the MRC Biostatistics Unit and co-author of the study, said: “One quarter of people aged 85 and over suffer from dementia. This new research will help those planning services for people with dementia to estimate requirements now and in the future. However, more research is needed to find out if the incidence of dementia in the UK is rising or falling.”
(KMcA/SP)
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