Affiliations: [a] Drexel University College of Nursing and Health Professions, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| [b] Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA
| [c] Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| [d] University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
Correspondence:
[*]
Correspondence to: Jesse Ballenger, PhD, Clinical Professor of Bioethics and Health Humanities, Drexel University College of Nursing and Health Professions, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. E-mail: jfb83@drexel.edu.
Abstract: In response to Finch and Burstein’s provocative argument that the advanced dementias may result from environmental toxins and lifestyle factors associated with post-industrial societies, we call for a more rigorous historical approach, emphasizing the importance of situating ancient texts more fully in their historical and cultural context. Such an approach would also entail consideration of the declining relative rates of dementia in Western countries, which have been linked to population health-level factors and policies that appear to have reduced the risk of dementia by directly and indirectly influencing the social determinants of brain health.
Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, environmental factors, history, public
health
