World-famous US neighborhood that's now dementia capital of America... and the surprising plan to rectify it

It's the birthplace of hip-hop, rap and Yankees baseball. 

Lush gardens and parks dot the vicinity of 1.4million, with authentic Puerto Rican, Italian and Mexican restaurants connected each corner. 

It's besides America's Alzheimer's capital.  

The Bronx has the highest complaint of Alzheimer's disease successful the nation, tied with Baltimore and Miami.

One successful six adults implicit 65 successful the New York City borough are diagnosed with Alzheimer's, compared to astir 1 successful 10 nationally.

Researchers judge the Bronx became an Alzheimer's hotspot owed to its agelong past of poorness rates good supra the nationalist mean and a ample number colonisation that has historically been much apt to beryllium struck by the disease.  

The country besides has New York City's highest complaint of nutrient insecurity, starring residents to crook to ultraprocessed foods shown to induce harmful inflammation successful the brain.

Healthcare providers successful the Bronx person present launched a four-week aviator programme to emulate Ikaria, Greece, a tiny island in the Aegean Sea.

The land of 8,300 is 1 of the world's 5 Blue Zones, areas wherever residents regularly unrecorded good into their 80s, 90s and adjacent 100. 

One of 3 Ikarians, for example, unrecorded past property 90.

One antheral named Stamatis Moraitis, who was calved connected Ikaria but moved to the US for work, was fixed a decease condemnation lung crab diagnosis successful 1976 and conscionable 9 months to live. After moving backmost location to Ikaria, helium survived different 45 years until property 98.

Residents of the Bronx, successful comparison, thin to unrecorded to 81, inactive much than the nationalist mean but the lowest retired of each 5 New York City boroughs. 

The Bronx program, dubbed the 'Blue Zones Challenge,' has recruited 100 Bronx residents of varying ages, races and backgrounds to travel successful the footsteps of Ikarians. 

The lone enrollment request was surviving successful the Bronx, and participants were encouraged to devour much foods aligned with the Mediterranean fare similar salmon and arugula. They past were tasked with journaling their habits for 4 weeks. 

The experts moving the programme told DailyMail.com the extremity isn't to wholly reverse the hazard of Alzheimer's successful conscionable a month. 

Instead, they anticipation it volition assistance residents follow semipermanent steadfast habits shown to combat the disease.

Dr Edward Cisek, main research, grants and valuation serviceman astatine CaringKind, 1 of the 2 organizations successful complaint of the Blue Zones Challenge, told this website: 'It's not expected immense changes are going to hap successful 4 weeks. It's to acceptable residents up for success.' 

The programme volition tally done May 27, 2025, and the squad volition unveil the findings adjacent month. 

The squad is looking to find if the bulk of the 100 participants are capable to acquisition notable changes similar losing weight, having much vigor oregon improvements successful chronic conditions similar diabetes.

They anticipation the programme whitethorn animate larger initiatives reaching the remainder of New York City. 

Nearly 7million Americans implicit property 65 person Alzheimer's disease, the astir communal signifier of dementia. 

According to the Alzheimer's Association, New York authorities has the third-highest percent of over-65s with Alzheimer's illness astatine astir 13  percent, trailing lone down Washington DC and Maryland. 

This adds up to astir 427,000. 

In the Bronx, 17 percent of adults implicit 65 - astir 35,700 - person been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. 

The nationalist complaint is 11 percent.  

In a 2023 report, Alzheimer's Association researchers said the higher rates could beryllium owed to the demographics successful the Bronx. 

The latest Census information shows 57 percent of residents are Hispanic and 28 percent are Black, much than immoderate different New York county. 

Both of these groups person the highest rates of Alzheimer's illness nationally. The Alzheimer's Association reports Black Americans implicit 65 are much than doubly arsenic apt arsenic their achromatic peers to beryllium struck by the condition, and Hispanics are 1.5 times much likely. 

Recent probe shows this could beryllium owed to Black and Hispanic populations having higher rates of cardiovascular conditions that impact the humor vessels. 

Heart illness tin harm humor vessels and trim the magnitude of humor that flows to the brain. Over time, this kills disconnected encephalon tissues and cells, starring to dementia, peculiarly vascular dementia. 

Diabetes, which is doubly arsenic communal successful Black adults, besides weakens humor vessels successful the encephalon and leads to inflammation. 

Socioeconomic presumption whitethorn besides beryllium a origin successful the Bronx's question of Alzheimer's disease.  

The Bronx is 1 of America's astir impoverished municipality counties and the poorest successful New York state, with 28 percent of residents surviving beneath the poorness line. Nationwide, 11 percent of Americans unrecorded successful poverty. 

The median household income successful the Bronx successful 2022 was $47,260, astir 41 percent little than $80,610 nationally. 

These factors are much apt to pb residents to crook toward cheap, ultraprocessed foods loaded with saturated fats, sugars and artificial additives. 

These foods person been shown to summation inflammation and oxidative stress, an imbalance betwixt disease-fighting antioxidants and harmful escaped radicals.

Free radicals onslaught compartment DNA and beforehand the maturation of toxic amyloid-beta and tau proteins shown to origin Alzheimer's.

In Ikaria, meanwhile, residents implicit property 85 person a 1 successful 10 accidental of processing Alzheimer's disease. That's the aforesaid hazard for Americans 20 years younger.

By the clip the mean US big reaches 85, they are 3 times much apt to make the illness than an 85-year-old successful Ikaria.

Ikaria besides has astir fractional America's complaint of bosom disease.

This is mostly due to the fact that Ikarians traditionally travel the Mediterranean diet, which has been hailed arsenic the healthiest eating program successful the world. 

The fare emphasizes vegetables, acheronian leafy greens, olive oil, avocadoes, full grains and nuts and seeds. These foods are affluent successful nutrients similar omega-3 fatty acids, which person been shown to trim levels of harmful inflammation and support neurons from damage.

Research successful the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease also suggested omega-3s trim levels of amyloid-beta and tau proteins. 

Ikaria's agelong beingness expectancy whitethorn besides beryllium owed to astir radical surviving a much relaxed lifestyle. 

To displacement the Bronx's wellness person toward Ikaria, the Blue Zones Challenge emphasizes manner changes similar choosing foods much intimately aligned with the Mediterranean diet.

Eleonora Tornatore-Mikesh, president and CEO of CaringKind, points toward a 2024 Lancet study that circular addressing 14 manner factors lowered the hazard of dementia by astir 40 percent. These included addressing diet, obesity, diabetes and carnal inactivity. 

She told DailyMail.com that portion definite factors similar familial predisposition can't easy beryllium reversed, the Blue Zones Challenge focuses connected factors that are wrong the mean person's grasp.

She said: 'This is the information you tin control: lifestyle. We can't hole each things, but we cognize manner changes tin interaction bully healthcare.' 

The lone request to motion up for the situation was being a nonmigratory from the Bronx. 

Dr Anderson Torres, CEO of Bronx-based aged attraction enactment RAIN Total Care who is besides a subordinate successful the challenge, told DailyMail.com because Alzheimer's is truthful prevalent successful the country that the squad didn't request to specifically question retired a peculiar radical of radical for this archetypal study. 

'By being from the Bronx, we are each astatine risk,' helium said. 

The 100 participants enrolled successful the survey were told to download a journaling app and support way of everything they ate, arsenic good arsenic habits similar exercising. 

They weren't fixed circumstantial instructions but were alternatively told to beryllium much intentional with their habits. For example, alternatively of choosing fried chicken, opt for grilled. Participants are besides encouraged to adhd much dark, leafy greens and steadfast fats to their meals and suggest their peers effort the same. 

'These manner changes enactment champion erstwhile you bash them with different people,' Dr Cisek said.   

Tornatore-Mikesh told this website the squad chose 4 weeks due to the fact that probe suggests that's however agelong it takes to make a habit. 

The hope, she said, is to laic the groundwork for participants to marque longer-term changes. 

Dr Torres, who treats galore Bronx-based patients with Alzheimer's, is participating successful the situation himself. He said that portion helium has conscionable nether 3 weeks left, tiny habits similar weighing himself each time person caused him to suffer weight.

And arsenic a benignant 2 diabetic, helium has noticed less humor sweetener spikes since swapping retired fried foods for healthier choices similar arugula and thin meats.   

If the different 99 participants acquisition akin improvements and tin commencement forming akin habits, the researchers program to grow the efforts to the remainder of New York City.

Tornatore-Mikesh said: 'I judge this is conscionable the beginning. I privation to spell for a afloat Blue Zone.'