. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2019 Jan 1.

Published in final edited form as: Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord. 2018 Jan-Mar;32(1):1–9. doi: 10.1097/WAD.0000000000000237

Table 1.

Some Examples of Recent Contributions from Dementia Epidemiology

Temporal trends. Discovering a trend towards decreasing age-specific incidence of dementia in high-income countries; factors underlying these trends could shed light on disease mechanisms and inform preventive strategies.^{6, 7, 8}

Full spectrum of pathology. Community-based brain autopsy studies showing that neuropathologies are common in people without dementia, and that most dementia, particularly in the eighth and later decades of life, is due to multiple etiologies; this knowledge broadens the potential range of preventive and therapeutic targets.⁹

Life-course impact of risk factors. Demonstrating critical periods during which different risk factors exert their influences, identifying the windows during which preventive strategies are likely to be effective.^{10, 11, 12}

Modifiable environmental risk factors, such as air pollution, shown to be associated with dementia.^{13, 14}

Modifiable protective factors, such as cognitive and physical activity, shown to predict healthy cognitive aging.^{15, 16}