Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Dementia

Dementia incidence — the times, they are a-changing

A new study reports that the incidence of dementia in one population has declined by over 40% between the 1970s and 2010s. The finding could have implications for the future prevalence of dementia, and illustrates the importance of environmental factors in the risk of dementia disorders.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Events experienced in the life courses of people born at different times in the 20th century.

References

  1. Prince, M. et al. The global prevalence of dementia: a systematic review and metaanalysis. Alzheimers Dement. 9, 63–75 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Satizabal, C. L. et al. Incidence of dementia over three decades in the Framingham Heart Study. N. Engl. J. Med. 374, 523–532 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Wu, Y. T. et al. Dementia in western Europe: epidemiological evidence and implications for policy making. Lancet Neurol. 15, 116–124 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Langa, K. M. et al. Trends in the prevalence and mortality of cognitive impairment in the United States: is there evidence of a compression of cognitive morbidity? Alzheimers Dement. 4, 134–144 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Sacco, R. L. & Dong, C. Declining stroke incidence and improving survival in US communities: evidence for success and future challenges. JAMA 312, 237–238 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Zhi, X. et al. Prevalence of cardiovascular disorders and risk factors in two 75-year-old birth cohorts examined in 1976–1977 and 2005–2006. Aging Clin. Exp. Res. 25, 377–383 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Schaie, K. W., Willis, S. L. & Pennak, S. An historical framework for cohort differences in intelligence. Res. Hum. Dev. 2, 43–67 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Stern, Y. Cognitive reserve in ageing and Alzheimer's disease. Lancet Neurol. 11, 1006–1012 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Sacuiu, S. et al. Secular changes in cognitive predictors of dementia and mortality in 70-year-olds. Neurology 75, 779–785 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Kovari, E., Herrmann, F. R., Bouras, C. & Gold, G. Amyloid deposition is decreasing in aging brains: an autopsy study of 1,599 older people. Neurology 82, 326–331 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Tom Marlow from the Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, for help with Figure 1. The author receives funding from The Swedish Research Council (2015-02830), Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (2013-2300), and the Sahlgrenska University Hospital.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ingmar Skoog.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author has received honoraria from Takeda for speaking and consultancy.

PowerPoint slides

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Skoog, I. Dementia incidence — the times, they are a-changing. Nat Rev Neurol 12, 316–318 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2016.55

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2016.55

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing