People in more recent generations 'less likely to develop dementia'

People born more recently are less likely to have dementia at any given age than earlier generations, research suggests, with the trend more pronounced in women.

- Nicola Davis

According to the World Health Organization, in 2021 there were 57 million people worldwide living with dementia, with women disproportionately affected. However, while dementia risk increases with age, experts have long stressed it is not an inevitability of getting older.

"Younger generations are less likely to develop dementia at the same age as their parents or grandparents, and that's a hopeful sign," said Dr Sabrina Lenzen, a co-author of the study from the University of Queensland's centre for the business and economics of health.

But she added: "The overall burden of dementia will still grow as populations age, and significant inequalities remain - especially by gender, education and geography."

Writing in the journal Jama Network Open, researchers in Australia report that they analysed data from 62,437 people aged 70 and over, collected from three long-running surveys covering the US, England and parts of Europe.