20年來首次對癡呆癥進行的美國全國代表性綜合研究發現,每10名65歲及以上的老年人中就有1人患有癡呆癥。這項研究強調了美國癡呆癥發病率高的嚴峻現實。
該研究進一步發現,65歲及以上人群中,輕度認知障礙(MCI)的發病率為22%,被定義為介于“正常衰老和癡呆”之間的早期記憶喪失。
本周發表在《美國醫學會神經病學雜志》(Journal of the American Medical Association [JAMA] Neurology)上的這項研究,按年齡、性別、種族、民族和教育程度分析了2016年6月至2017年10月期間近3500名65歲及以上美國老年人癡呆癥的普遍性。該研究調查了測試記憶力、理解力和對象命名等能力的認知評估,同時還進行了面對面訪談,以確定參與者與正常樣本相比是否患有癡呆癥或輕度認知障礙。
該研究的作者、哥倫比亞大學格特魯德·H·塞吉耶夫斯基中心(Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center)和托布老齡化與阿爾茨海默癥研究所(Taub Institute for Research in Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease)神經心理學教授詹妮弗·J·曼利(Jennifer J. Manly)對《財富》雜志表示,癡呆癥通常未被充分認識,也未被充分診斷,尤其是在難以獲得醫療保健的人群中。
根據美國疾病控制和預防中心(CDC)的說法,雖然年齡增長會增加患癡呆癥的風險,但這不是“正常”衰老。相反,癡呆癥是一種使人衰弱的疾病,會使人難以思考、記憶、推理和交談。阿爾茨海默癥是60%到80%癡呆病例的病因,是該疾病最常見的誘因。這項新研究的發現與之前測試癡呆癥患病率的研究相呼應。
但曼利在一份新聞稿中說,過去關于癡呆癥有多普遍的研究“主要集中在受過大學教育的白人。如今的這項研究代表了老年人群體,包括了歷史上被排除在癡呆癥研究之外但由于結構性種族主義和收入不平等,他們患認知障礙的風險更高的群體。如果我們對提高晚年大腦健康的公平性感興趣,我們需要知道我們現在的情況,以及我們的資源應該向哪里傾斜。”
研究發現,黑人成年人患癡呆癥的幾率比非拉美裔白人成年人高81%,15%的黑人成年人患有癡呆癥,而白人的這一比例為11%。拉美裔成年人患輕度認知障礙的幾率比非拉美裔白人成年人高42%,28%的拉美裔成年人患有輕度認知障礙,而23%的白人患有輕度認知障礙。
在所有成年人中,隨著受教育年限的增加,患癡呆癥的風險也會降低。曼利說,這些數據可以“為未來情況改善設立一個標桿。”
癡呆癥研究歷來集中研究白人
哈肯薩克大學醫學中心記憶喪失和大腦健康中心聯合主任兼老年病學部主任馬尼沙·帕魯萊卡(Manisha Parulekar)博士告訴《財富》雜志,要在癡呆癥最普遍的人群中開展教育、早期發現和預防,首先要有一個多樣化的研究樣本。
她說:“很多這些研究的知情同意書都是英文版本的,如果你不會說英語,你就會自動被排除在外。”她補充說,包容性研究可以提高人們對癥狀、藥物和生活方式的改變的認識,這有助于減緩病情進展——她正努力向那些被排除在研究之外的社區宣傳這一點。
在7月接受威斯康星大學阿爾茨海默癥研究中心采訪時,阿爾茨海默癥協會的首席多樣性、公平性和包容性官卡爾?希爾(Carl Hill)強調了了解癡呆癥和風險因素(如高血壓、抑郁癥和糖尿病)的多樣性的重要性,這些風險因素會對人們的一生造成嚴重影響。
“有些人存在遺傳風險。對另一些人來說,我們必須了解生命過程觀點,即壓力在生命過程中的累積效應,以及這與應對威脅心血管健康的行為有何關系。”他說,并補充說這會增加患癡呆癥的風險。
《美國醫學會雜志》的研究還發現,隨著人們年齡的增長,癡呆癥的患病率大幅上升,90歲及以上的人中有35%患有癡呆癥。隨著65歲及以上人群的持續增長,研究人員指出,迫切需要了解這種對那些還沒有成為研究中心的社區產生不平等影響的綜合癥。
曼利說:“我們的特權分層反映在我們的健康狀況中,我們在新冠肺炎疫情中發現了這一點,我認為我們在癡呆癥和認知障礙中也發現了這一點。我們有義務真正嘗試為人們的所有體驗提供服務,包括他們居住的地方,以及誰關心他們,我們需要倡導這類事情。”(財富中文網)
譯者:中慧言-王芳
20年來首次對癡呆癥進行的美國全國代表性綜合研究發現,每10名65歲及以上的老年人中就有1人患有癡呆癥。這項研究強調了美國癡呆癥發病率高的嚴峻現實。
該研究進一步發現,65歲及以上人群中,輕度認知障礙(MCI)的發病率為22%,被定義為介于“正常衰老和癡呆”之間的早期記憶喪失。
本周發表在《美國醫學會神經病學雜志》(Journal of the American Medical Association [JAMA] Neurology)上的這項研究,按年齡、性別、種族、民族和教育程度分析了2016年6月至2017年10月期間近3500名65歲及以上美國老年人癡呆癥的普遍性。該研究調查了測試記憶力、理解力和對象命名等能力的認知評估,同時還進行了面對面訪談,以確定參與者與正常樣本相比是否患有癡呆癥或輕度認知障礙。
該研究的作者、哥倫比亞大學格特魯德·H·塞吉耶夫斯基中心(Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center)和托布老齡化與阿爾茨海默癥研究所(Taub Institute for Research in Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease)神經心理學教授詹妮弗·J·曼利(Jennifer J. Manly)對《財富》雜志表示,癡呆癥通常未被充分認識,也未被充分診斷,尤其是在難以獲得醫療保健的人群中。
根據美國疾病控制和預防中心(CDC)的說法,雖然年齡增長會增加患癡呆癥的風險,但這不是“正常”衰老。相反,癡呆癥是一種使人衰弱的疾病,會使人難以思考、記憶、推理和交談。阿爾茨海默癥是60%到80%癡呆病例的病因,是該疾病最常見的誘因。這項新研究的發現與之前測試癡呆癥患病率的研究相呼應。
但曼利在一份新聞稿中說,過去關于癡呆癥有多普遍的研究“主要集中在受過大學教育的白人。如今的這項研究代表了老年人群體,包括了歷史上被排除在癡呆癥研究之外但由于結構性種族主義和收入不平等,他們患認知障礙的風險更高的群體。如果我們對提高晚年大腦健康的公平性感興趣,我們需要知道我們現在的情況,以及我們的資源應該向哪里傾斜。”
研究發現,黑人成年人患癡呆癥的幾率比非拉美裔白人成年人高81%,15%的黑人成年人患有癡呆癥,而白人的這一比例為11%。拉美裔成年人患輕度認知障礙的幾率比非拉美裔白人成年人高42%,28%的拉美裔成年人患有輕度認知障礙,而23%的白人患有輕度認知障礙。
在所有成年人中,隨著受教育年限的增加,患癡呆癥的風險也會降低。曼利說,這些數據可以“為未來情況改善設立一個標桿。”
癡呆癥研究歷來集中研究白人
哈肯薩克大學醫學中心記憶喪失和大腦健康中心聯合主任兼老年病學部主任馬尼沙·帕魯萊卡(Manisha Parulekar)博士告訴《財富》雜志,要在癡呆癥最普遍的人群中開展教育、早期發現和預防,首先要有一個多樣化的研究樣本。
她說:“很多這些研究的知情同意書都是英文版本的,如果你不會說英語,你就會自動被排除在外。”她補充說,包容性研究可以提高人們對癥狀、藥物和生活方式的改變的認識,這有助于減緩病情進展——她正努力向那些被排除在研究之外的社區宣傳這一點。
在7月接受威斯康星大學阿爾茨海默癥研究中心采訪時,阿爾茨海默癥協會的首席多樣性、公平性和包容性官卡爾?希爾(Carl Hill)強調了了解癡呆癥和風險因素(如高血壓、抑郁癥和糖尿病)的多樣性的重要性,這些風險因素會對人們的一生造成嚴重影響。
“有些人存在遺傳風險。對另一些人來說,我們必須了解生命過程觀點,即壓力在生命過程中的累積效應,以及這與應對威脅心血管健康的行為有何關系。”他說,并補充說這會增加患癡呆癥的風險。
《美國醫學會雜志》的研究還發現,隨著人們年齡的增長,癡呆癥的患病率大幅上升,90歲及以上的人中有35%患有癡呆癥。隨著65歲及以上人群的持續增長,研究人員指出,迫切需要了解這種對那些還沒有成為研究中心的社區產生不平等影響的綜合癥。
曼利說:“我們的特權分層反映在我們的健康狀況中,我們在新冠肺炎疫情中發現了這一點,我認為我們在癡呆癥和認知障礙中也發現了這一點。我們有義務真正嘗試為人們的所有體驗提供服務,包括他們居住的地方,以及誰關心他們,我們需要倡導這類事情。”(財富中文網)
譯者:中慧言-王芳
One in 10 adults age 65 and older have dementia, finds the first nationally representative study of the syndrome in 20 years. It highlighted the grim reality around the prevalence of dementia in the U.S.
The study further found a 22% prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) of those 65 and older, defined as early stage memory loss in between “normal aging and dementia.”
The research, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Neurology, analyzed the ubiquity of dementia by age, sex, race, ethnicity, and education of nearly 3,500 people 65 and over between June 2016 and October 2017. It examined cognitive assessments that tested for abilities such as memory, comprehension, and object naming, along with an in-person interview to determine whether the participants had dementia or MCI compared to a normative sample.
Dementia is generally under-recognized and underdiagnosed, especially among people who have less access to health care, Jennifer J. Manly, author of the study and professor of neuropsychology in neurology at the Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center and the Taub Institute for Research in Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease at Columbia University, tells Fortune.
While getting older increases the risk for having dementia, it is not a “normal” part of aging, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Rather, it’s a debilitating condition that can make it difficult to think, remember, reason, and speak. Alzheimer’s causes between 60% and 80% of cases of dementia, making it the most common trigger of the disease. This new study’s findings mirror previous studies testing the prevalence of dementia in the overall population.
But past research on how common dementia is “largely focused on college-educated people who are racialized as white,” Manly says in a press release. “This study is representative of the population of older adults and includes groups that have been historically excluded from dementia research but are at higher risk of developing cognitive impairment because of structural racism and income inequality. If we’re interested in increasing brain health equity in later life, we need to know where we stand now and where to direct our resources.”
It found that Black adults’ dementia odds were 81% higher than that of non-Hispanic white adults, and 15% of those who identify as Black developed dementia compared to 11% of those who identify as white. Hispanic adults had 42% higher odds of MCI compared to non-Hispanic white adults, and 28% who identify as Hispanic developed MCI compared to 23% of those who identify as white.
Dementia risk also decreased with each individual year of education attained among all adults, and Manly says this data can “set a marker for improvement in the future.”
Dementia research is historically white
Education, early detection, and prevention in the groups where dementia is most prevalent starts with a diverse sample of research, Dr. Manisha Parulekar, codirector of the Center for Memory Loss and Brain Health and director of the division of geriatrics at Hackensack University Medical Center, tells Fortune.
“A lot of these studies’ consent forms are in English, and if you’re not English-speaking you’re automatically excluded,” she says, adding that inclusive research leads to increased awareness on symptoms, medications, and lifestyle changes that can help slow the progression—something she is working on getting out to communities who have been widely left out of studies.
In a July interview with the University of Wisconsin’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Carl Hill, chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer at the Alzheimer’s Association, underscores the importance of understanding the diversity among dementia and the risk factors (like high blood pressure, depression, and diabetes) that can disproportionately affect people throughout their lives.
“In some people, there is a genetic risk. In others, we’ve got to understand the life course perspective and that is the cumulative effects of stress over the life course, how that relates to coping behaviors that threaten their cardiovascular health,” he said, adding that can increase the risk for dementia.
The JAMA study also found that the prevalence of dementia grew substantially as people age, with 35% of those age 90 and over afflicted with it. As the 65-and-over cohort continues to grow, researchers point to the urgency in understanding the syndrome that unequally affects communities who haven’t been at the center of the research.
“We have a stratification of privilege that is reflected in our health, and we’ve seen that in COVID, and I think that we were seeing that in dementia and in cognitive impairment,” Manly says. “We have an obligation to really try to serve all of the experiences that people have, and that includes where they live, and who cares for them, and we need to advocate for that type of thing.”