Study says rural seniors suffer dementia more than urban counterparts; high school graduation helps - Entrepreneur Generations

A new study says that rural seniors are suffering from dementia and cognitive impairment more than their city-dwelling counterparts, though the rates in both rural and urban areas are decreasing. The decrease in overall dementia could be attributed to improved high school graduation rates. The findings, published in the December issue of the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, say that the incidence of rural dementia is expected to double by 2050 because of the wave of aging Baby Boomers.

"While many studies to date have focused on individual-level sources of disparity (e.g. racial and ethnic origins), this is the first study to report a rural-urban differential that behooves the scientific and clinical community to address the attendant factors that confer higher risk for dementia in rural seniors," said senior investigator Regina Shih, PhD, of the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy research organization.

The researchers studied rural and urban seniors in both 2000 and 2010 to assess overall trends. They found that cognitive impairment in rural seniors declined from 7.1 percent in 2000 to 5.1 percent in 2010. Cognitive impairment in urban seniors declined from 5.4 percent in 2000 to 4.4 percent in 2010. During that time period, the racial and ethnic minority population increased in rural areas and so did the overall number of rural adults who had more than 12 years of education.

"Our findings linking rural adults' recent gains in cognitive functioning with the improved rates of high school graduation provides a new example of how public investment in education can narrow population health disparities," siad lead investigator Margaret M. Weden, PhD, also of the RAND Corporation. "The absence of any prior evidence about the rates and disparities in dementia and cognitive impairment by rural residence that comes from a large, nationally representative study has certainly hampered the ability of these communities to advocate for continued investment in rural healthcare and long-term care services."

from The Rural Blog http://ift.tt/2ytRGOf Study says rural seniors suffer dementia more than urban counterparts; high school graduation helps - Entrepreneur Generations

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