NEW YORK, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- About a million Americans a year are expected to develop dementia by 2060, roughly two times today's toll, The Associated Press cited researchers on Monday.
That estimate is based on a new study that found a higher lifetime risk than previously thought: after age 55, people have up to a 4 in 10 chance of eventually developing dementia, if they live long enough.
It's a sobering number but there are steps people can take to reduce that risk, such as controlling high blood pressure and other bad-for-the-brain health problems. And it's not too late to try even in middle age.
"All of our research suggests what you do in midlife really matters," said Josef Coresh of New York University Langone Health, who coauthored the study in the journal Nature Medicine.
Alzheimer's is the most common form, and silent brain changes that eventually lead to it can begin two decades before symptoms appear.
Other types include vascular dementia, when heart disease or small strokes impair blood flow to the brain. Many people have mixed causes, meaning vascular problems could exacerbate brewing Alzheimer's symptoms.
