Your good news of the day

Senile dementia rates are falling, surprisingly enough, with better senior health and better education.

 "A new study has found that dementia rates among people 65 and older in England and Wales have plummeted by 25 percent over the past two decades, to 6.2 percent from 8.3 percent, a trend that researchers say is likely occurring across developed countries and that could have major social and economic implications for families and societies."

  "And experts on aging say the studies confirmed something they long suspected but lacked good evidence to prove: that dementia rates would fall and mental acuity improve as the population grew healthier and better educated. The studies’s findings may also give new impetus to efforts to get people to quit smoking and take other steps to lower their risks of heart disease and stroke."

This is certainly good to hear, since all of us are growing older.  I am especially intrigued by the better education being a factor.  Does that mean that simply keeping mentally active and challenged is useful in preventing dementia, or is it that those who are less likely to develop it tend to strive toward better education?

Science will ultimately tell us, I'm sure.