Dementia: Where you live could be linked to cognitive decline

A recent study in Australia suggests that the quality of your neighbourhood could be associated with the risk of developing dementia later in life. The research, published in JAMA Network Open, indicates that people who live in wealthier areas have superior memories and a lower risk of developing dementia.

The research analysed data collected between 2016 and 2020 from the population-based Healthy Brain Project from the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, including 4656 participants between the ages of 40 and 70 years old without dementia.

Affluent neighbourhood, less risk?

The results suggest that neighbourhoods with a higher socioeconomic status were linked to superior memory and lower dementia risk scores. That is, those who lived in affluent areas scored significantly higher on memory tests and lower on dementia risk tests compared to those who live in disadvantaged neighbourhoods.

The differences were particularly substantial among older adults and individuals with higher dementia scores. The authors concluded:

Together, these data suggest that persons in more disadvantaged neighbourhoods generally have higher dementia risk scores and subtle differences in memory, even in midlife.

Their results are supported by a recent study in the United States, which also suggested an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease among disadvantaged areas.

However, research in the United Kingdom only indicated an increased risk of dementia among individuals with a lower personal socioeconomic status, not among neighbourhoods.

In China and Mexico City, chronic exposure to air pollution has recently been linked to cognitive decline, even in young people. Air pollution is often worse in disadvantaged neighbourhoods, which means this could be a contributing factor to memory problems in lower socioeconomic groups.

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A need to improve disadvantaged areas

The results of the study underscores the need for improved facilities in disadvantaged areas to promote healthy lifestyle habits and help reduce the increasing burden of dementia.

Lead author and Associate Professor from the Monash University in Melbourne, Matthew Pase, said:

With healthy lifestyle habits a key factor in reducing or delaying your risk of developing dementia, it is important for everyone to have access to local facilities such as gyms and public pools, green spaces and health care, but unfortunately that is not always the case.

More research is needed to better understand the barriers for people so that informed solutions can be delivered at a community level to address the inequalities.