Indigenous Amazon groups have some of lowest dementia rates in world

Christian Fernsby ▼ | March 11, 2022

Two Indigenous groups living in the Amazon rainforest have some of the lowest rates of dementia in the world, according to a new study.

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The research, published today in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association, could provide further clues about how sedentary, urban, and industrial lifestyles are a prime factor in the development of age-related dementia.

The team also believes that these insights from the Indigenous Amazonians could also help teach others how to reduce dementia in the industrialized world.

Scientists from the University of Southern California (USC) found that just 1 percent of older TsimanÃ© and Moseten people, two Indigenous groups in the Bolivian Amazon, suffer from dementia.

By stark comparison, up to 11 percent of people aged 65 and older living in the US have dementia.

To reach their findings, the team studied hundreds of TsimanÃ© and Moseten people using CT brain scans, cognitive and neurological assessments, and culturally appropriate questionnaires, aided by the help of a local team of translators and Bolivian doctors.

Out of 435 TsimanÃ© people, researchers identified just five cases of dementia and just one case among 169 Moseten people age 60 and over.

To their surprise, the researchers found that older TsimanÃ© and Moseten people with dementia frequently had unusual and prominent calcifications in the arteries buried within the skull. These strange calcifications were also seen significantly more frequently in those without dementia compared to European populations. The researchers werenâ€™t sure what to make of this observation, but they hope to return to the Amazon for further investigation.

The research team doesn't point towards any genetic factors that may protect against dementia, but instead believes the key factor lies in lifestyle.

Itâ€™s no secret that factors associated with industrialized urban living â€” midlife hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, physical inactivity, poor diets, and air pollution â€” can significantly up the risk of dementia and Alzheimerâ€™s disease.

Itâ€™s also well-known that these two Indigenous groups live exceptional healthy lifestyles in the Bolivian Amazon. Despite having little or no access to modern healthcare, the TsimanÃ© are extremely healthy because they remain intensely physically active, using their bodies to fish, hunt, farm, and forage throughout their lifespan. Paired with this, they eat a high-fiber diet that is rich in vegetables, fruit, non-processed carbohydrates, fish, and lean meat. ■

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Indigenous Amazon groups have some of lowest dementia rates in world

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