The Economist on the Decline in Dementia
The Economist carried an excellent three page Briefing by Jason Rosenthal on the decline in the incidence of dementia in its 11 July edition (1), a substantial piece, given that the previous article, by the Prime Ministers of Canada and Finland on the new world order, occupied only a single page.
It is an excellent article, drawing on the Lancet Commission, including an interview with its chair, Gill Livingston, and citing the work of the actuary Eric Stallard, who has shown that 40 years ago 3 in 10 Americans aged 80 to 89 had dementia, whereas it is now only 1 in 10. (2) The article also refers to the FINGER randomised controlled trial (the Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment), which demonstrated that prevention of dementia is possible.
The conclusion is positive, but the article does not consider the impact of deprivation in sufficient depth. 'Less education' is cited as a risk factor, but the principal determinant of 'less education' is deprivation, and an article in The Lancet Public Health (3) describes how the decline in dementia in England may be slowing or reversing, because the decline is taking place only in the best educated sections of the population. The conclusion was clear: "The group with lower educational attainment had a smaller decline in dementia incidence from 2002 to 2008 and a greater increase after 2008." This could, of course, be redrafted to say that there was a greater increase in the most deprived groups, since educational attainment and levels of deprivation are strongly linked.
So, as is often the case, preventing dementia needs a community based approach, as well as one which ensures that individuals understand how their own risk can be reduced. Our book Increase Your Brainability, Reduce the Risk and Impact of Dementia (4) will, of course, be read by individuals, but we also have resources that could be used by a community group to get the discussion going in deprived communities.
References
The Economist. How dementia is being defeated. 2026 Jul 9. Available at: https://www.economist.com/briefing/2026/07/09/how-dementia-is-being-defeated
Stallard E, et al. (2025) Changing story of the dementia epidemic. JAMA. 2025 May 13;333(18):1579 to 1580. doi: 10.1001/jama.2025.1897
Chen S, et al. (2023) Dementia incidence trend in England and Wales, 2002 to 19, and projection for dementia burden to 2040: analysis of data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Lancet Public Health 2023; 8: e859 to 67.
Alessi C, Chambers LW, Gray M. (2021) Increase Your Brainability and Reduce Your Risk of Dementia. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN-13: 978-0198860341.