A sea change in Western attitudes toward aging would benefit young and old alike.

The Alzheimer’s pandemic has long been a dark riddle. What are its causes? Why has it apparently become much more widespread just in the last few generations? Why does it afflict some nations more aggressively than others? Why do twice as many women suffer from it than men? And what can we do to fight back against this terrible, incurable disease?

These crucial questions have long remained unanswered.

But a new study by Yale School of Public Health offers some possible answers—answers with implications for both the young and the old.

According to the study, the main cause of Alzheimer’s may be societies’ absence of respect for elderly people.

It basically says that individuals who are conditioned by society to believe that they will lose their mental acuity and health when they grow old most likely will. It says that people who succumb to worrying, negative thinking and feeling obsolete are under a great deal of stress, and this stress can actually change their brains in a way that leads to Alzheimer’s and other kinds of dementia.

The logic of the conclusion is easy to understand: When someone who is negative about aging begins growing old, they will put forth less effort. They will use fewer adaptive strategies, and will try to avoid challenging situations. And since the brain is a “use it or lose it” organ, avoiding challenges and reducing effort leads to physical deterioration.

The study, called “A Culture–Brain Link: Negative Age Stereotypes Predict Alzheimer’s Disease Biomarkers,” was published on December 7 in the journal Psychology and Aging. (You can read more about the methodology here.)

This study is far from the final word on Alzheimer’s, and sometimes well-respected, active people who seem to be doing everything right—such as Ronald Reagan—succumb to the ravages of Alzheimer’s.

Nevertheless, the study’s findings are potentially important because they could explain why rates of dementia are so much higher in Western nations like the United States and Britain than in such countries as India, Cambodia and Greece—where aging is celebrated and elderly people are respected.

America’s ‘Forever 21’ Culture

The societies of America, the United Kingdom and most other Western nations today are not only obsessed with youth, but also openly hostile toward aging.

“Institutionalized prejudice against aging is condoned by our society,” wrote Todd D. Nelson, an associate professor of social psychology at California State University–Stanislaus. “Americans shun older people because they are obsessed with youth and beauty,” he said.

American sociologist Jean Potuchek said, “Our society seems to assume that youth is a time when we are developing and when our bodies and minds are sharp and capable. Age, by contrast, is seen as a time when we are declining and our bodies and minds are dull and losing their capabilities.”

Experts say the media plays a major role in these perceptions. The elderly are usually painted as irrelevant, slow-thinking, chronically ill, unable to work, and burdensome. Their wisdom—if they are shown to have any at all—is depicted as outdated and useless.

In Social Issues in America, author James Ciment said: “The media, in particular, emphasize the positive attributes of the young.” By contrast, “the elderly are generally excluded from the media, except as figures of amusement or ridicule.”

In Learning to Love Growing Old, Jere Daniel explains: “Influenced by the fairy tales we hear as children, and what we see on television and hear in everyday life, we develop negative stereotypes about aging by the time we are 6 years old …. These stereotypes persist as we grow up, completely unaware that we even acquired them or granted them our unconditional acceptance. With our understanding of the subject forever frozen, we grow into old age assuming the stereotypes to be true. And we live down to them.”

Far too many people in America, Britain and most other modern societies buy into the negativity about aging—with devastating results. But some cultures hold a far more positive view of aging and of elderly people.

Societies Esteeming the Elderly

In parts of India the elderly usually live with their children and grandchildren for life. And all members of the family hold them in high regard.

Achyut Bihani of the Institute of Management Calcutta explained: “In a typical Indian joint family … the eldest members head the household. Advice is always sought from them on a range of issues, from investment of family money to nitty-gritties of traditional wedding rituals and intra-family conflicts. And this is not just passive advice; their word is final in settling disputes.”

Bihani said that disrespecting the elders of the family or sending them to live in a nursing home has a strong social stigma.

The situation is similar in Cambodia, where elders live with their extended family for life and the younger members demonstrate great respect toward them. CambodianWelfare.org says, “Elders are respected by all age groups; they stay with the family for comfort and support. In many families, elders are expected to prepare meals and take care of grandchildren while wife and husband work.”

In India and Cambodia, the reported rate of Alzheimer’s deaths is 0.46 people per 100,000.

Compare that to a rate of 24.4 in the United Kingdom, 35.5 in Canada, and 45.6 in the United States.

This means a British person is 53 times more likely to die of Alzheimer’s or dementia than an Indian or Cambodian. A Canadian is 77 times more likely, and the life of an American is 100 times more likely to end in that tragic way.

What About Differences in Life Expectancy?

Some may say the only reason the U.S. and UK have higher Alzheimer’s rates than places like India and Cambodia is simply because people live longer in the Western nations. Since more Americans and Brits live to reach old age, more develop age-related diseases.

It’s true that life expectancy often plays a role in the differing rates of Alzheimer’s between nations. But the example of Greece shows that is not always the reason for the vast disparity.

The average Greek person lives to be 81 years old. That’s two years longer than the average American, and about the same as the average British person. Yet, the rate of Alzheimer’s/dementia in Greece is only 2.74 per 100,000 people. That is 8 times lower than in the UK and 17 times lower than in the United States!

The massive difference may well be because of the positive view Greeks have of aging and the aged. The 2006 book On Becoming Fearless says: “[I]n all of Greece … the idea of honoring old age, indeed identifying it with wisdom and closeness to God, is in startling contrast to the way we treat aging in America.”

Even still, the findings of this new study are not the last word on Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. From nation to nation, there are stark differences in diet, lifestyle, fitness levels and medical reporting methods. These and numerous other factors likely contribute to the differing rates from nation to nation.

Nevertheless, the evidence saying that one big factor is societies’ attitude toward aging is compelling.

And a look at the Bible makes clear that viewing aging and the aged negatively is contrary to God’s law.

The Young Should Honor the Aged

God says younger people should “rise up before the hoary head” and “honor the face of the old man” (Leviticus 19:32).

God sees gray hair on a person as a “crown of glory” (Proverbs 16:31). And He wants people of all ages to view elderly people as He does.

When young people fail to respect the aged members of society, they miss out on some invaluable resources: “With the very aged is wisdom, and with length of days understanding,” says Job 12:12 (Young’s Literal).

Numerous other Bible passages reiterate this same truth.

God’s plan allots most individuals about 70 years or so to live, to make decisions, and to learn about life. That doesn’t mean age always leads to wisdom (see Ecclesiastes 4:13 and Job 32:6-9). But in general, people who have lived longer will have acquired more wisdom. And younger people would benefit immensely from integrating that wisdom into their lives.

If younger people learn to respect old age, they will also benefit later in their lives when they themselves grow old. Rather than succumbing to feelings of negativity about aging, they’ll be grateful to live through the latter chapters of their lives. With a positive view of aging, they will be likely to retain their mental health and acuity for their entire lives.

If young people want to obey God and reap the benefits of living life the way He designed it, we will go out of our way to reverence our senior citizens. And we will rid our thinking of the toxic negativity about aging that society instills in us.

Wear Your ‘Crown of Glory’ Proudly!

The findings of the new Yale study also carry a clear message for older people: No good comes from believing the negativity about aging—no matter how deeply that negativity is entrenched into society.

Buying into such beliefs becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Proverbs 23:7 says that our thinking determines what we become: “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.”

View old age as a problem, and it will be a problem. Expect your memory to fade, and it will fade. See aging as an incurable disease, and it may well lead to incurable disease.

If a person puts forth less effort, uses fewer adaptive strategies, and avoids challenging situations, his brain will suffer. The quality of his thoughts will decline, his memory will dull, and his mental ability will wane. In some cases, Alzheimer’s will even set in.

The solution is to reject society’s negativity about aging and to wear the “crown of glory” proudly!

Do you want to believe the writers of The Simpsons or the Writer who inspired the book of Psalms?

Psalm 92:14 says that “even in old age,” people can “produce fruit” and “remain vital and green” (New Living).

An Inspiring Example

The Bible also shows us dozens of amazing examples of specific men and women who accomplished this. And it shows how they did it.

When Caleb, son of Jephunneh, was 85 years old, he was every bit as strong and sharp as he had been at age 40!

“I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me … to explore the land. … Here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then” (Joshua 14:7-11; New International).

That is an amazing statement. At age 85, Caleb felt no decline at all from how he had felt during his prime. In light of that, you could say, his prime was actually still happening at age 85!

Because of his confidence and strength, 85-year-old Caleb asked to be given a swath of land adjacent to a nation of powerful people who were hostile to the Israelites. He was not afraid to confront them to defend his inheritance. In fact, he was eager to do so! (verse 12).

How could an 85-year-old man be just as strong and sharp as he had been at age 40?

It was for three main reasons. First, it was because Caleb was highly active from age 40 to 85, wandering in the wilderness, fighting vigorous battles, walking many miles on most days, and pressing toward the goal of the Promise Land. He was pushing himself physically and mentally.

The second reason Caleb remained mentally and physically strong ties in in to the new Yale study: He lived in a society that respected its elders. The above-mentioned passage from Leviticus 19, in which God commanded younger people to “rise up” before their elders was a command given to the society Caleb lived in. And it was enforced in that society. The elders were respected.

In this one way—respecting elders—Ancient Israel was more like modern day India, Cambodia and Greece than it was like modern day American and Britain. Caleb was respected. His wisdom was valued. That contributed to the fact that he did not deteriorate from age 40 to age 85.

Both of these factors greatly contributed to Caleb’s vigor. But Caleb pointed to a third factor which he said was the major reason why he retained his vitality: I am still as strong today because “I wholly followed the eternal my God” (Joshua 14:8).

If we are following God with our whole hearts, we’ll never retire from spiritual labor. If we are following God with our whole hearts, we won’t buy the lies that media and society tell us about age. Instead we will continually push ourselves to be growing. Instead of trying to avoid challenges and stressful situations, we will seek them out! If we are following God with our whole hearts, we will wear our gray hair proudly, as a “crown of glory”!