A study published in June found that veterans seemed to have higher incidences of dementia depending on where they live. This study, conducted by researchers at the University of California San Francisco, found that dementia rates per every 1,000 person-years were highest in the Southeast and lowest in the Mid-Atlantic.
According to researchers, in the Southeast, there were 14 cases of dementia per every 1,000 person-years and in the Mid-Atlantic, there were 11.5 per every 1,000 person-years. Researchers based their comparisons on the Mid-Atlantic’s data.
These findings were consistent, even when researchers factored in age, race, and cardiovascular disease, including in rural areas, where medical care is not as accessible in many cases.
“Among older adults in the VHA, dementia incidence varied significantly across U.S. regions, independent of key covariates,” researchers said. “These findings highlight the need for targeted health care planning, public health interventions, and policy development.”
There were 1,268,599 veterans 65 years and older studied by researchers. Dementia diagnoses, according to the study, were made based on “International Classification of Diseases” codes, and poisson regression models were used to calculcate dementia incidences and look at regional differences.
Dementia rates 25% higher in Southeast: study
According to the study’s findings, dementia rates among the cohort were 25% higher in the Southeast; the Northwest and Rocky Mountains were 23% higher; and in the South, they were 18% higher.
Rates in the Southwest were 13% higher, and in the Northeast, they were 7% higher.
The study’s lead author, Christina Dintica, a postdoctoral scholar in psychiatry at the University of California San Francisco, said in a press release that the next step is to investigate the factors driving these differences. “Quality of education, early life conditions, and environmental exposures may be among those factors.”
Newsweek, which reported on the study, interviewed Dr. Daniel Lesley, board-certified neurologist at Remo Health, who said that to prevent dementia, people should avoid environmental pollutants like tobacco smoke, poorly functioning gas or wood stoves and unfiltered water in places that might be contaminated.
“These exposures negatively impact multiple aspects of health, including cognitive function,” Lesley said.
