Conditions such as low education, chronic stress and lack of access to health services and free time help to explain how where you live they can speed up cognitive decline
In recent years, several studies have indicated the same standard: living in areas where access to basic services is limited is associated with the maximum probability of cognitive decline. One of the most recent polls was conducted by Rush University in Chicago, the United States.
Published in March in the magazine NeurologyFrom the American Academy of Neurology, the study accompanied 6,781 elderly and revealed that the residents of poorest regions had more than double the risk of development Alzheimer’s Compared to those who live in favored neighborhoods. The speed of loss of mental functions was also higher, about 25% faster.
Avoidable decline
Dementia is a problem that goes beyond the limits of natural aging. This is not an inevitable effect of age, but a series of conditions characterized by the progressive decline of cognitive functions such as memory, language, spatial orientation, attention and judgment.
Although the advancement of age is the main risk factor, it is linked to pathological processes and factors accumulated throughout life. The most common form is Alzheimer’s disease, which represents up to 70% of cases and usually manifests itself initially for recent memory losses. Other relevant types include vascular dementia, associated with cardiovascular diseases; Dementia with Lewy bodies, which combines cognitive and motor symptoms; And the front -time dementia, which mainly affects behavior and language.
Despite the differences between the types, all forms of dementia share a central aspect: the compromise of autonomy. The progress of symptoms interferes with the ability to carry out basic daily tasks, maintain social bonds and make daily decisions. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms that contribute to cognitive decline – and to the way they can be avoided – has become a priority in public health.
In recent years, the reviews of the main studies on the population have consolidated the idea that a significant part of dementia could be postponed or prevented. In 2024, A report published in the magazine The hand Updated the list of modifiable and estimated risk factors that up to 45% of cases in the world are connected to conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, obesitylow education, social isolation, depression, the smoothness, cholesterol High and unofficial vision loss.
The logic is cumulative: more risk factors have a person for life, more likely to undergo a cognitive decline. Therefore, the prevention report underlines the importance of acting in advance, even in childhood and middle age, to build a sort of cognitive reserve that protects the brain In the following decades.
Unequal society, accumulated risk
The problem is that these factors are not distributed homogeneous in society. People who live in poorest communities tend to be more exposed to certain conditions that favor the accumulation of risk: less access to quality education, greater prevalence of hypertension and scarcely controlled diabetes, pollutionLess opportunities for physical activity and greater incidence of depression and social isolation.
This association between the environment and the risk of dementia has been described in different population contexts. Made with old women of color in the United States, a study published in 2025 in Alzheimer’s & Dementia Journal He has shown that those who live in poorer neighborhoods had a higher risk of 42% of cognitive decline than those who live in more favorite regions. In New Zealand, A survey of 1.4 million people stressed thatWith each increase in the level of economic deprivation of the neighborhood, the risk of dementia grew between 6% and 9%.
The concept of determinants of social health is fundamental for understanding since environmental, socio -economic and cultural factors affect the risk of neurological diseases, including dementia. “It is known that more adverse living conditions, such as poverty, urban violence, food insecurity, chronic exposure to stress, pollution and limited access to cognitive stimuli, can increase brain vulnerability,” explains the neurologist Iron Dangoni, Iris Rezende Machado Municipal Hospital.
Published in February in The Lancet Global Health, A study conducted by Brazilian and Latin American researchers showed how social and health inequalities affect the brain health of the population on practice. The research evaluated the data of 41,000 elderly people from five countries – Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile and Uruguay – using Automatic learning, An artificial intelligence technique that allows computers to identify models and make forecasts based on large data volumes to underline the main factors associated with cognitive and functional decline.
In the Brazilian case, the low education emerged as the main risk factor for cognitive losses, since the symptoms of mental health, such as depression and anxiety, were the greatest predictors for worsening functional ability (the ability to perform basic daily tasks such as eating, wet or move). As Rush University researchers identified, the analysis pointed that social and health factors have more influence on the brain than traditional demographic characteristics, such as age and genre.
The research also reveals the regional differences within Brazil: the elderly of the South, South -East and Midwest regions have shown better cognitive services than those of the North and North -Eastern regions. The authors concluded that to promote healthy aging in Latin America, public policies must give priority to quality education, mental health care and the reduction of social inequalities from the early stages of life.
Full prevention
According to Dangoni, to deal with the problem effectively and ethically, it is essential to adopt public health strategies based on community and structural interventions, rather than on only responsible individuals. “These initiatives must be intersectoral, considering not only the health system, but also the policies of education, homes, transport and public safety”, underlines the neurologist.
In recent years, several countries have begun to treat dementia prevention pursuant to this prejudice. In the United Kingdom, the program The prevention of dementia, coordinated by the National Health Service (NHS), includes actions to promote cardiovascular health, stimulate physical activity, combat social isolation and encourage continuous training as ways to reduce the risk of dementia. In the United States, the healthy cerebral initiative, led by the control and prevention centers of diseases (CDC), operates in collaboration with state governments to integrate brain health with local policies, giving priority to vulnerable communities.
In Brazil, the clash of dementia advances slowly – and still comes across challenges such as underwater diagnosis. According to an estimate of National Report on Dementiaissued by the Ministry of Health in September 2024, in collaboration with the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), over 70% of the Brazilian elderly with dementia do not receive a formal diagnosis. “It is necessary to improve the health of the population to recognize the first signs and stigmas of combat associated with aging and cognitive diseases, that is, not considering that everything is by age,” says Dangoni.
Created in 2024, national policy for full care for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia (law n. 14.878/24) has established guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and support for caregivers. Although the focus of policy follows concentrated in health care, Article 7 provides for the Sus support for the research and development of treatments in collaboration with national and international institutions, which can open the way for initiatives aimed at social determinants, if this area is incorporated through projects of innovation, financing and sharing of data.
“The Brazilian population is aging at a brutal speed. No other population in the world has aged like us,” says Zimmer. “We are in an important moment to understand that we must focus on the reduction of the number of people who live in social vulnerability”.
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
