A generation of 'New Men' have lead to hit low on the chances of dementia cases in males, as per a study conducted by Cambridge University. Decades of health advice, encouraging men to quit smoking, exercise, eat healthy and lower their cholesterol and blood pressure, has led to 40,000 fewer cases a year than expected.
The research was first carried out in the early 1990s, they anticipated 250,000 new cases a year by now. However, the latest figures suggest there are fewer than 210,000 cases - a clear drop of 20 per cent. The rates in women still lay unchanged during the same period. The shift is bad news for the women, as it means that two thirds of the people diagnosed with dementia are now women. Twenty years ago the incidence rate for men over 65 was 31 in 1,000 and for women 25 in 1,000. But now it is 18 in 1,000 for men and 24 in 1,000 for women. Researchers say it is proven that making lifestyle changes has a huge impact on dementia rates.
Professor Carol Brayne, Director of the Cambridge Institute of Public Health, at Cambridge University said, “Our evidence shows that the so-called dementia 'tsunami' is not an inevitability. We can help turn the tide if we take action now. Our findings suggest that brain health is improving significantly in the UK across generations, particularly among men. It may be that men are becoming a bit more like women in terms of their health. The UK in earlier eras has seen major societal investments into improving population health and this appears to be helping protect older people form dementia.”
Last year a study by the same team found that although it was predicted that 884,000 people would have dementia by 2011, figures showed it is now closer to 670,000. Despite predictions that 8.3 per cent of over 65s would now have dementia, it is in fact 6.5 per cent, 22 per cent less than expected and barely any different from how many people had the disease in the 1990s.
Prof Gordon Wilcock, Emeritus Professor of Geratology, University of Oxford said: “Although we will never completely remove the risk of developing dementia, living healthier lifestyles from as early as possible will reduce that risk, or delay its onset. “The most important finding from this study is that changing our approach to how we live our lives is as important as developing drugs to treat dementia. This is our individual responsibility, not anyone else’s.”
Dr Simon Ridley, Director of Research, Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “This is welcome news. The challenge for research now is to understand what has driven the reduction, so that we can capitalise on this knowledge and take action to prevent incidence rates rising again in future. “The UK currently has rising levels of obesity and diabetes, both of which are risk factors for dementia, and continued efforts to improve public health will be crucial to ensure that this trend in falling dementia incidence is not slowed or reversed.”
