Irreligious/nonreligious geographic regions and Alzheimer's disease

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A PET scan of the brain of an individual with Alzheimer's disease reveals a loss of function in the temporal lobe.

Alzheimer's disease is "characterised by loss of neurons and synapses in the cerebral cortex and certain subcortical regions. This loss results in gross atrophy of the affected regions, including degeneration in the temporal lobe and parietal lobe, and parts of the frontal cortex and cingulate gyrus.[1] Some of the primary symptoms of Alzheimer's disease are: memory problems, mood swings, emotional outbursts, brain stem damage which impairs function in the heart, lungs plus causes disruption of various other bodily processes.[2]

Concerning religion and health, there is considerable amount of scientific evidence that suggest that theism is more conducive to mental and physical health than atheism [3] See also: The Bible and health

According to the Gallup Inc., "Very religious Americans are more likely to practice healthy behaviors than those who are moderately religious or nonreligious."[4]

Obesity/diet are linked to the development of Alzheimer's disease.[5][6]

For more information about religion/atheism and various health practices, please see: Atheism and Alzheimer's disease and Religion and Alzheimer's disease prevention

Secular Europe and Alzheimer's disease

See also: Secular Europe

Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias are putting an enormous socio-economic burden on healthcare systems, families, and caregivers. Populations in Europe are ageing, and with this will grow the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease.

If left unchecked, roughly 9 million people in the EU are expected to have dementia by 2030 – approaching twice the population of Denmark.[7]

From a global perspective, Europe is more secular/atheistic than the rest of the world although it does have a considerable amount of religious immigrants who have significantly higher birth rates (see: Secular Europe and Atheist population and Global atheism).

According to Politico:

“ Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias are putting an enormous socio-economic burden on healthcare systems, families, and caregivers. Populations in Europe are ageing, and with this will grow the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease. If left unchecked, roughly 9 million people in the EU are expected to have dementia by 2030 – approaching twice the population of Denmark.[8] ”

According to the abstract of the 2017 journal article Prevalence and incidence of Alzheimer's disease in Europe: A meta-analysis published in the journal Neurologia:

“ The prevalence of Alzheimer's disease in Europe was estimated at 5.05% (95% CI, 4.73-5.39). The prevalence in men was 3.31% (95% CI, 2.85-3.80) and in women, 7.13% (95% CI, 6.56-7.72), and increased with age. The incidence of Alzheimer's disease in Europe was 11.08 per 1000 person-years (95% CI, 10.30-11.89). Broken down by sex, it was 7.02 per 1000 person-years (95% CI, 6.06-8.05) in men and 13.25 per 1000 person-years (95% CI, 12.05-14.51) in women; again these rates increased with age.[9] ”

Atheist controlled mainland China and Alzheimer's disease

See also: China and atheism

China has the largest atheist population in the world.[10]

China has the world's largest atheist population.[11][12] China practices state atheism (see: China and atheism).

East Asia contains about 25 percent of the world’s population. China’s population represents 20 percent of the people on earth.[13]

Razib Khan points out in Discover Magazine, "most secular nations in the world are those of East Asia, in particular what are often termed “Confucian societies.” It is likely therefore that the majority of the world’s atheists are actually East Asian."[14] See: Asian atheism and Global atheism

China and Alzheimer's disease

In 2017, the South China Morning Post indicated:

“ No health care problem looms larger in China than Alzheimer’s disease. It is the fastest-growing major disease on the mainland, with at least 9.5 million ­sufferers and perhaps as many undiagnosed cases. Almost a million Chinese are diagnosed every year with Alzheimer’s, with the number of new cases expected to rise sharply by around 2030.

Of the major diseases in China, Alzheimer’s also has the greatest mismatch between the number of patients and amount of specialised care available. [15]

”

Australia and Alzheimer's disease

See also: Irreligion in Australia

Australia's national IQ is 98.[16] The Daily Mail reported in 2014, "Evidence suggests that the IQs of people in the UK, Denmark and Australia have declined in the last decade."[17]

After WWII, Australia has become a very secular country.[18]

Irreligion and Australia

According to the Sydney Morning Herald:

“ Australia is one of the least devout countries in the Western world, although two-thirds of its population identifies itself as Christian, an international survey comparing religious expression in 21 countries has found.

Religion does not play a central part in the lives of many Australians: 48 per cent of Australians surveyed said they did not partake in personal prayer and 52 per cent said they rarely attended a place of worship for religious reasons.[19]

”

Australia and current and projected rates of dementia and Alzheimer's disease

Over 342,000 Australians are living with dementia — a number which is expected to increase to 400,000 before 2030.[20]

The website My Virtual Medical Centre states concerning Alzheimer's disease and Australia:

“ Dementia affects about 10% of those aged over 65 years with 20% of those over 80 years suffering from severe dementia. Women may be at slightly higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease than men. An Access Economics report commissioned by Alzheimer’s Australia and published in March 2005 suggests that the number of people with dementia in Australia will be 25% higher by 2050 than was predicted in 2003.

The report estimates that:

  • By 2016, dementia will be the leading cause of disease burden in Australia.
  • By 2050, the total number of Australians with dementia will be over 730,000, or 2.8% of the population.
  • During 2050, it is projected that there will be over 175,000 new cases diagnosed.[21]
 ”

See also

References

  1. ↑ Neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's
  2. ↑ Alzheimer's disease
  3. ↑ Multiple references:
  4. ↑ Very Religious Americans Lead Healthier Lives, Gallup Poll, 2010
  5. ↑ Obesity + aging linked to Alzheimer's markers in the brain, Science Daily, June 28, 2018
  6. ↑ Obesity as a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease: weighing the evidence. by Alford S, Patel D, Perakakis N, Mantzoros CS., Obesity Reviews. 2018 Feb;19(2):269-280. doi: 10.1111/obr.12629. Epub 2017 Oct 10.
  7. ↑ Addressing Alzheimer’s disease in Europe: What still needs to be done?, Politico, 2016
  8. ↑ Addressing Alzheimer’s disease in Europe: What still needs to be done?, Politico, 2016
  9. ↑ Prevalence and incidence of Alzheimer's disease in Europe: A meta-analysis by Niu H1, Álvarez-Álvarez I2, Guillén-Grima F3, Aguinaga-Ontoso I2., Neurologia. 2017 Oct;32(8):523-532. doi: 10.1016/j.nrl.2016.02.016. Epub 2016 Apr 26.
  10. ↑
  11. ↑ Top 50 Countries With Highest Proportion of Atheists / Agnostics (Zuckerman, 2005)
  12. ↑ A surprising map of where the world’s atheists live, Washington Post By Max Fisher and Caitlin Dewey May 23, 2013
  13. ↑ The Growth of Christianity in East Asia
  14. ↑ Most atheists are not white & other non-fairy tales, Discover magazine
  15. ↑ China’s millions of Alzheimer’s patients cannot wait any longer for specialised care, South China Morning Post, 2017
  16. ↑ WORLD RANKING OF COUNTRIES BY THEIR AVERAGE
  17. ↑ Are we becoming more STUPID? IQ scores are decreasing - and some experts argue it's because humans have reached their intellectual peak, Daily Mail, 2014
  18. ↑ Stephanie Painter, Vivienne Ryan and Bethany Hiatt, (15 June 2010). "Australians losing the faith". Newspaper. West Australian Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 15 June 2010
  19. ↑ God's OK, it's just the religion bit we don't like
  20. ↑ [ https://www.alz.org/au/dementia-alzheimers-australia.asp Australians and dementia]
  21. ↑ Alzheimer's disease, My Virtual Medical Centre
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