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Each person has different reasons to choose to live where they do. Some prefer the extra space that the suburbs can afford, while others like the excitement and convenience of being in a big city. But a new study showed that where you live can also affect the probability that you develop Alzheimer's disease later in life. Read on to see the residents of which zone are at the highest risk.

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According to a study presented at theAlzheimer Association International ConferenceA team of researchers has decided to better understand how geography has taken into account deaths related to Alzheimer's disease. Using data from the National Health Statistics Center, they were able to examine the trends in Alzheimer's mortality between 1999 and 2019 and connect them to the urbanization levels.

Over the two decades, the team found that the Alzheimer's mortality rate in the overall population relied considerably from 16 to 30 deaths per 100,000, representing an increase of 88%. But the results also found that deaths were not equally distributed among the United States, rural areas indicating higher alzheimer mortality rates in relation to urban areas.

The results have also been able to locate the areas of the United States that have been struck the hardestby deaths related to Alzheimer's disease. The South-South Central Region - which includes Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee saw the highest rate of 274 per 100,000 people aged 65 and over. This rate is more than tripled than that of urban areas in the Mid-Atlantic region, in which mortality rates were the lowest.

"Our work shows that there is a growing divergence in Alzheimer's mortality between urban and rural areas. This divergence could be linked to, or could be the result of other disparities in urban rural health, including the Access to primary care and other health services, socio-economic level, diagnostic time and the growing proportion of elderly Americans living in these areas "Ambar Kulshreshtha, MD, the author of the Emory University study, said in a statement. "The identification and understanding of the reasons for these health disparities are essential to allocate key social and public health resources appropriately."

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Although differences in Alzheimer's mortality rates between rural and urban areas were surprising, the global report also made another shocking achievement. A team of researchers examined the data of the global burden of the disease (GBD) collected between 1999 and 2019 to estimate that the number of cases of global dementia will probably be between 130.8 and 175.6 million in the next three decades. . Mastering Figures Defines a forecast of approximately 152.8 million cases of dementia by 2050, triple the 57 million global cases currently observed.

"These estimates will enable policy makers and decision-makers to better understand the expected increases in the number of individuals with dementia as well as drivers of these increases in a given geographic framework", ","Emma NicholsThe principal investigator of the study of the Institute of Metric and Health Assessment at the School of Medicine at the University of Washington said in a declaration. "The great expected increase in the number of individuals with dementia highlights the vital need for research focused on the discovery of the treatment of the modification of disease and inexpensive interventions for the prevention or delay of dementia."

A previous study published inThe American Journal of Preventive Medicine In 2017 also found a link between rural areas and ahigher rate of Alzheimer's disease or dementia. To test their theory, researchers analyzed data from more than 16,000 adults aged 55 and up with medical assessments in 2000 and 2010, WebMD reports.

The results found thatRates of dementia in rural areas Were seven percent, compared to 5.4% in urban areas in 2000. And although the rates of both groups had declined by 2010, rural areas have always seen five per cent of their population affected by degenerative disease against 4.4% in urban areas.

"Rural communities get older than urban communities" Regina Shih , PhD, the company investigator of the non-profit corporation that commissioned the study, stated in a statement. "Since these communities are experiencing more health care and long-term care system challenges, we hope that this research highlights the need to intervene on the factors that place rural seniors at a greater risk dementia. "

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