The new study shows that more and more American adults are having serious trouble with their memory, concentration, and ability to make decisions. This is a growing concern, and the problem is rising fastest among people under the age of 40. When people think about cognitive issues like memory, focus, etc., they associate it with older age, like the 70s and 80s. However, reports of these problems appearing much earlier are steadily increasing. But why is that?The research, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Neurology, suggests this is not just a personal concern but a public health issue connected to factors like income and education.The study reviewed health surveys taken between 2013 and 2023. They categorized people as having a "cognitive disability" if they reported having serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions because of a physical or mental condition. Who is Is Affected The Most By Memory Loss?The overall number of adults reporting these thinking and memory problems went up significantly over ten years. However, the most surprising and worrying part of the study was the trend among young adults. For people under 40, the reported rates of difficulty with focus and memory nearly doubled, jumping from about 5% to almost 10%. At the same time, older adults (age 70 and up) actually saw a slight decrease in their reported problems. This huge jump in younger people suggests a new and serious issue. Even though the survey relied on people telling the researchers how they felt, the rapid increase among younger people points to a developing public health issue that could affect their health, their work, and the healthcare system for decades to come. What Are A Few Causes Of Poor Brain Health?The study clearly shows that money and education play a big part in who is struggling with cognitive issues. People with lower incomes reported the highest rates of memory and focus problems, and their rates are rising the fastest. For adults earning less than $35,000 a year, the rate of reported issues soared. In contrast, people earning over $75,000 only saw a much smaller increase. A similar pattern was seen with education: people who didn't finish high school reported much higher rates than college graduates, and their rates also increased more steeply. This suggests that the people already dealing with financial or structural disadvantages are the ones seeing the biggest decline in their reported brain health. Other Risk Factor of Poor Brain HealthThe increase in memory and thinking problems was observed across almost all racial and ethnic groups. However, some groups reported much higher rates than others. For example, American Indian and Alaska Native adults reported the highest percentage of cognitive challenges overall, and their rates of reported problems also increased substantially over the decade. Hispanic and Black adults also saw significant increases. The researchers believe these findings indicate that the groups who already face larger structural disadvantages in society are experiencing the sharpest rise in these thinking and memory issues. The study authors emphasized that we need more research to understand the social and economic reasons behind these large, growing differences.
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