In 1984, around 30% of Americans were diagnosed with dementia by the end of their 80s. Today it’s 10%.

If rates had stayed steady there would be 17 million Americans with dementia today. Instead there are 6 million. This saves us around a trillion dollars in medical bills per year and unknowable suffering.

Every five year cohort measured has had a lower risk than the cohort before them.

We don’t know why.
I’ve read a lot about the shingles vaccine being one potential culprit…

https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2025/03/shingles-vaccination-dementia.html
For those living with dementia, new study suggests shingles vaccine could slow the disease

A new analysis of a vaccination program in Wales found that the shingles vaccine not only appeared to lower new dementia diagnoses by 20%, it also helped those who already have the disease.

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