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Number of people with dementia set to jump 40% to 78mn by 2030: WHO

Thursday, 02 September 2021 6:02 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 02 September 2021 6:02 PM ]

A symbolic illustration depicting sequential atrophy of cognitive capacities due to dementia and Alzheimer.

More than 55 million people worldwide are living with dementia, a neurological disorder that robs them of their memory and also costs the world $1.3 trillion a year, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.

With populations ageing, the number of people with the progressive condition, caused by stroke, brain injury or Alzheimer's disease, is projected to rise to 78 million by 2030 and 139 million by 2050, the WHO said in a report.

But developing dementia is not inevitable and some risk factors can be reduced, by controlling hypertension, diabetes, diet, depression, and the use of alcohol and tobacco, it said.

Only one in four countries has a national policy in place to support dementia patients and their families, the WHO said, urging governments to step up to the challenge.

Health ministers agreed in 2015 on a global action plan, including early diagnosis and providing care, but are falling short on meeting targets by 2025, it said.

"Dementia truly is a global public health concern and not just in high-income countries. In fact, over 60% of people with dementia live in low- and middle-income countries," Katrin Seeher, an expert in WHO's department of mental health, told a news briefing.

Medication, hygiene products, and household adjustments for dementia patients are more accessible in wealthy countries, with a greater level of reimbursement, than in lower-income countries, the report said.

Dementia affects memory, orientation, learning capacity, language, judgement, and the ability to perform everyday tasks, it said.

"It is true though that it can also happen in people that are younger than 65, we speak of young-onset dementia. That proportion is roughly 10% of all dementia cases. It is not only a problem of the older population," Seeher said.

Risk factors are the same as for cardiovascular and other non-communicable diseases, including smoking, harmful use of alcohol, hypertension, diabetes, depression, and social isolation, but they can be modified, said WHO expert Tarun Dua.

"These are the things that we can do to promote our brain health and decrease the cognitive decline and the risk for dementia. These are things that can be started at a younger age," she said.

(Source: Reuters)

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