Welcome to Neurotransmissions, a new column on dementia from Jason Karlawish. This is the first in a three-part series on the dramatically changing world of dementia.
Dementia is a big problem.
An estimated 7.2 million Americans are living with it, and in the coming decades, there will be even more — as many as 13.8 million by 2060. The diseases that cause dementia are diseases of aging and, in America and other industrialized nations, over the last century, living past 70, even 75, has become the norm. A recent report estimates the lifetime risk of dementia from age 55 to 90 is 42%, and much of this risk unfolds after 75.
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