Brain Health & The Environment

Effects of physical and social environments on the risk of dementia among Taiwanese older adults: a population-based case-control study 

Liu, Chih-Ching; Sun, Yu; Kung, Shiann-Far; Kuo, Hsien-Wen; Huang, Nuan-Ching 

BMC GERIATRICS 2020 

Dementia leads to increased healthcare costs, potential disability, and mortality. Physical and social environments, for example, parks, playgrounds, sports venues, community centers, family median income, etc., may potentially affect people’s risk of dementia by influencing their lifestyle and chronic diseases. In Asia, little is known about how the physical or social environments affect the risk of dementia. To answer this question, researchers conducted a study among a large elderly population in Taiwan, and they found that living in townships with a high density of playgrounds and sports venues or a medium density of community centers may decrease the risk of dementia, but such effects also depend on age, gender, occupation, or income. Public health interventions should consider these environmental aspects for preventing the incidence of dementia in the elderly population. 

https://bmcgeriatr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12877-020-01624-6