A new study published this week has found that deaths from dementia, the degenerative disease that reduces a person’s cognitive abilities, have tripled in the last 21 years.
The study was published in The Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders and reported that from 1999 to 2020, the number of Americans who died from dementia rose from 150,000 to 450,000.
The National Institute on Aging defines the disease as “the loss of cognitive functioning — thinking, remembering, and reasoning — and behavioral abilities to such an extent that it interferes with a person’s daily life and activities.”
Now researchers are looking to uncover what’s behind the trend, including the author of the study, Mohsan Ali, a physician with the King Edward Medical University in Pakistan, who said that the chances of dying from the disease increased in every demographic group.
One possible reason Ali sees for the increase in dementia deaths is something that’s inevitable: Americans are living longer.
“Age is the most significant risk factor for dementia,” he shared with ABC News.
Another reason could be people being diagnosed earlier, though other contributors like the increased prevalence of conditions like diabetes, obesity, and heart disease may also be playing a role.
While every demographic saw an increase, the study highlighted that women, Black adults, and people living in rural communities saw the greatest increase in dementia deaths. Black Adults had the highest death rate, followed by non-Hispanic white adults and Hispanic adults.
“While the increased rates in women may be because women live longer than men, there may be biological and genetic factors that make women more susceptible to dementia,” Ali noted. “Rural areas face a higher burden of dementia-related mortality due to several factors. These include limited access to healthcare services, fewer specialists in dementia care, and reduced availability of support services.”