Dementia Linked to Birthplace

Thanks to the folks at AARP, who are quoting an article in JAMA Neurology, we now know the states that produce the most people who will eventually succumb to dementia. Lest you believe that Life in the Boomer Lane is referring to those states that produced the highest numbers of voters for Trump, she isn’t. She is referring to clinical dementia, not political dementia. But the fascinating thing here is, these clinical dementia states are also hotbeds of political dementia.

Researchers found that the risk of dementia was 28% higher among people born in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, South Carolina, and West Virginia. The risk of dementia did not lessen, even when these people moved, after birth, to lesser risk states. In other words, these folks were doomed from the get-go.

As for the political dementia factor, which the research didn’t address,  the states mentioned above were all big-win states for Trump in 2016. To be fair, several states not on the dementia list were also big-win states for Trump. But no blue states or purple states were on the list.

(An aside: Some of these states are also the highest ranked for gun violence, general mayhem, and poor clothing choices. Seven out of the ten are among the most self-identified religious states in the country.  But LBL cautions against making gross assumptions here, arguing that a population that identifies as “very religious,” and yet condones gun and other forms of violence, might be being just a tad bit hypocritical or in a constant out-of-body state.  She makes no assumptions whatsoever about poor clothing choices.)

What conclusions can we draw from all this?  LBL leaves it up to you to draw whatever conclusions you desire.  She will remain silent, since she wants to avoid receiving raging letters from people who were born in the dementia states and who voted for Trump. Or from people born in the dementia states who didn’t vote for Trump.

The lead JAMA researcher concludes, “Although you can’t change where you were born…” LBL disagrees, and she has a suggestion:   If you are currently pregnant, or, if you are planning to get pregnant at some point, and, if you live in one of the dementia states, consider giving birth elsewhere. Then, you can simply return home after the birth.