Folks have had different sorts of dementia for centuries, though. We simply didn't have the knowledge nor the tools to differentiate one from another and tended to call things by different names.
Not as many people die young now, either, so more folks are actually getting diseases that present in old age. You can't observe many old folks if there aren't any, and you won't notice as many diseases that hit mostly women if a lot of women die in childbirth.
And a note: Food of yesteryear wasn't really better/healthier than now. It was different, more risky, and for most folks, was just made of whatever they happen to have and not very varied.
It's not a modern disease, it simply has exploded in occurrence. This explosion is modern. This is likely due to our diet. There's a book called "the blue zones" that dives into healthy diets and lifestyles that have historically helped people grow old.
> Food of yesteryear wasn't really better/healthier than now.
Not all food was. But Okinawans do pretty well for a long, long time.
Folks have had different sorts of dementia for centuries, though. We simply didn't have the knowledge nor the tools to differentiate one from another and tended to call things by different names.
Not as many people die young now, either, so more folks are actually getting diseases that present in old age. You can't observe many old folks if there aren't any, and you won't notice as many diseases that hit mostly women if a lot of women die in childbirth.
And a note: Food of yesteryear wasn't really better/healthier than now. It was different, more risky, and for most folks, was just made of whatever they happen to have and not very varied.