PHOENIX: The rate of dementia among Americans age 65 and older appears to be on the decline, even though more men and women are living longer, a USC-led team of researchers has found.
Also in their analysis, the researchers found that the length of life with dementia and cognitive impairment was slightly shortened for men and women age 65 and over.
“This indicates aging men and women are living a longer healthy life and a shorter impaired life,” said University Professor Eileen Crimmins, AARP professor of gerontology at the USC Davis School of Gerontology. “This is something we have not seen before in terms of most other diseases and conditions.”
Dementia decreased by 2.6 percent to 7.72 percent among American men aged 65 and over and declined 1.99 percent to 10.8 percent among women over the same age.
The researchers also found that more Americans 65 and older have their memories intact. The prevalence of having no cognitive problems increased by 4.45 percent for men and 3.41 percent for women…