840: Our Healthy Kentucky Home, Dementia Set To Double

SUMMER JOHNSON: 

This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Monday, February 10, 2025. I'm Summer Johnson. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

STEVEN STACK: 

So, we set more modest goals to try to get people to begin a journey of actionable and sustainable interventions in their lives to be healthier going forward.

JOHNSON: 

ASTHO's Immediate Past President, Dr. Steven Stack is the commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health. He says the state is committed to ensuring all residents are as healthy as possible with the 'Our Healthy Kentucky Home' initiative.

STACK: 

One is to eat at least two servings of fruits or vegetables every single day. And the next thing is to exercise at least 30 minutes, three times per week. And the third thing is to be socially engaged and connected with others.

JOHNSON: 

The initiative began in November 2024, and will go throughout the year. Each month, the department plans to focus on a new angle.

STACK: 

In February, we're going to do disaster preparedness, because we enter tornado season and things that have caused problems within our state. So, we're going to each month give additional information and resources to try to help people prepare and be engaged in their own lives.

JOHNSON: 

Stack adds that they're using multiple resources and partners to get the word out.

STACK: 

We're messaging through our health insurance plans to reach people. We're trying to use Medicaid to reach out to our Medicaid population. That's another 1.4 million Kentuckians. We've asked hospitals and schools and others to try to find ways to create their own derivative campaigns.

JOHNSON: 

You can find information on Our Health Kentucky Home online now. Use the link in the show notes to learn more.

A new study shows that the U.S. could see dementia cases double by 2060. Dr. Josef Coresh, from the Optimal Aging Institute at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, conducted the study and breaks down the numbers.

JOSEPH CORESH: 

If you start at age 55, the risk by age 75 is 4% the risk by age 85 goes up to 20% and more than half the risk is after age 85 in the following decade to age 95.

JOHNSON: 

Coresh says an aging population, plus a population that may live longer, contributed to the prediction.

CORESH: 

As the number of people over age 85 more than doubles, the number of dementia cases will double as well. And in fact, the increase is larger among black Americans, and therefore we're projecting that the number of dementia new cases will triple by 2060 among black Americans.

JOHNSON: 

This may come as no surprise, but working now on dementia prevention will be important.

CORESH: 

I think we need to prepare and think of how to integrate across the full age spectrum and align with the fact that there's a lot of potential in our older population.

JOHNSON: 

You can dive into the full report and even more findings by clicking the link in the show notes.

Also, some good news this morning, for the first time ever, the PH-WINS survey by the de Beaumont Foundation is expanding to also cover the territories and freely associated states. The survey gives employees a chance to share their perspectives on topics like engagement and morale, training needs, and more. There's more information in the show notes.

Finally, this morning, the CDC has issued a Health Alert Network Health Advisory about a recently confirmed outbreak of ebola in Uganda. Read more when you click the link in the show notes.

That'll do it for today. We're back tomorrow morning with more ASTHO news and information. I'm Summer Johnson. You're listening to the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition. Have a great day.