Memory loss is prevalent in older people today, but that wasn’t always the case.
Researchers in California have poured through many ancient texts about human health and made a surprising discovery. Writings from the 8th century BCE to the 3rd century CE found few mentions of memory and cognitive issues in their older populations. Researchers Stanley Burstein, historian, and Caleb Finch, who studies the mechanisms of aging at the University of Southern California, found no mention of memory loss in the medical writings of ancient physicians like Hippocrates, his followers, or even Aristotle.
The conclusion is fascinating – it seems as though ancient societies did not experience dementia, Alzheimer’s, or other aging issues in the same numbers that we do today.
But why would that be true?
In modern times, age is recognized as the most significant risk factor for dementia. Around one-third of people over 85 have dementia, and the number of cases doubles every five years for those over 65.
Your first guess may be that ancient populations didn’t enjoy the longevity we do today. As it turns out, that is a common misconception. In ancient Greece, people often lived close to 70 years, and about half of them lived even longer. Hippocrates, the famous Greek doctor and “father of medicine,” is believed to have lived into his 80s or 90s.
That’s not to say these ancient peoples were immune from other common age-related issues. In Greek texts from the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE, old age was linked with many physical issues, like hearing loss, dizziness, trouble sleeping, blindness, and stomach problems. However, serious memory problems didn’t seem to stand out. Finch and Burstein wrote, “We found no reports similar to modern cases of Alzheimer’s or related dementias.”
The findings indicate that memory issues in aging populations were rare. Finch and Burstein found that while there were occasional mentions of some “mental decline” in old age, it was seen as unusual. In the time of Aristotle and Hippocrates, only a few texts describe symptoms that might hint at Alzheimer’s disease. Still, the writings don’t mention major memory, speech, or thinking problems.
Ancient Roman writer Cicero didn’t talk about memory loss in his writings on the “four evils” of old age, which suggests it was still rare in the mid-1st century BCE. Finch and Burstein found no strong examples of severe memory loss in old age until the 1st century CE. The first detailed case was by Pliny the Elder, who described a famous Roman senator who eventually forgot his name as he aged.
In the 2nd century, Galen, a personal doctor of Roman emperors, wrote about people who couldn’t recognize themselves or their friends. By then, air pollution was common in Rome, and people were often exposed to lead from cooking pots, water pipes, and cosmetics. Researchers think these conditions could have raised the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, causing unusual aging symptoms that were rarely seen before.
Without more information, it’s hard to say why records from Imperial Rome mention severe dementia symptoms more often than records from ancient Greece. It’s possible that Rome was beginning to experience air pollution at a greater rate than Greece.
Of course, ancient civilizations weren’t driving SUVs, but there were different sources of pollution. People used wood, peat, and dung to cook and heat, producing smoky, poor indoor air quality. Metal production at the time released fumes from bronze and iron ores, creating sulfur dioxide and other toxins.
In crowded cities, animal waste and dust from unpaved roads added to air pollution, while burning oil lamps exposed these people to soot and smoke. Even though ancient air pollution wasn’t as prevalent as it is now, it still existed.
Today, some small populations throughout the world have dementia rates of less than one percent. For example, the modern Tsimané and Moseten people in the Bolivian Amazon have about 80 percent less dementia than people in the U.S. and Europe. Their lifestyles focus on traditional farming and foraging instead of industrial or urban living, leading researchers to believe that environmental factors play a more significant part in cognitive decline than aging.
Finch and Burstein urge researchers to explore the history of dementia in ancient times to understand when and why serious age-related cognitive issues began to appear. This fascinating study may help scientists develop treatments to slow the disease process, with the hope of eventually understanding how to eradicate it completely.
