Nearly 50 million people globally are now living with dementia, British experts said today.
The figure is quoted in the World Alzheimer’s Report 2015 issued by Alzheimer’s Disease International.
The report says numbers of those affected will double every 20 years – rejecting claims last week that dementia rates may be stabilising.
According to the report, the current total of 46.8 million will reach 131.5 million by 2050.
And the current annual cost of dementia is more than 800 billion US dollars, it says.
The figures have been compiled by Professor Martin Prince, from the Global Observatory for Ageing and Dementia Care at King’s College, London.
Professor Prince said: “We now believe that we underestimated the current and future scale of the epidemic by 12-13% in the 2009 World Alzheimer Report, with costs growing more rapidly than the numbers of people affected.”
ADI chair Glen Rees said: “We must use the findings of this report to advocate for action in international forums to fight back against the stigma of dementia and encourage the growth of dementia-friendly communities and countries.
"This action should include timely diagnosis and post-diagnostic support and improved access to support and care, especially in low and middle income countries.”
Last week some experts argued that rates of dementia are stabilising in many wealthy countries as a result of improvements in vascular health – reducing rates of vascular dementia.
Leave a Reply