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O3‐01‐01: The global epidemic
Author(s) -
Wortmann Marc
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2010.05.389
Subject(s) - dementia , medicine , population , latin americans , disease , demography , gerontology , geography , environmental health , political science , sociology , law , pathology
Background: On 21 September 2009 (World Alzheimer’s Day) Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI), the international federation of 71 national Alzheimer organizations, released the World Alzheimer’s Report to raise awareness for the disease that will have a dramatic impact on individuals and healthcare systems globally. A previous study was published in 2005 in Lancet (Ferri et al. ‘‘World prevalence of dementia: a Delphi consensus study.’’ Lancet. Vol. 366, December 17/24/31, 2005). Methods: The study is a meta-analysis of 167 prevalence studies from around the world by the 10/66 Dementia Research Group that is related to ADI. Inclusion criteria were: Population-based studies of the prevalence of dementia among people aged 60 years and over (according to DSM-IV or ICD-10 or similar criteria), for which the field work started on or after 1 January 1980. Excluded were, among others, studies on dementia subtypes only. Results: More than 35 million people worldwide will have dementia in 2010. This is a 10 percent increase over previous global dementia prevalence reported in the Lancet study. Dementia prevalence will nearly double every 20 years, to 65.7 million in 2030 and 115.4 million in 2050. The increases were driven primarily by new data from low and middle-income countries. Estimates were higher for Western Europe (7.29% vs. 5.92%), South Asia (5.65% vs. 3.40%) and Latin America (8.50% vs. 7.25%) than the 2005 estimates. The estimate for East Asia is lower (4.98% vs. 6.46%). The estimate for North America, while slightly higher, is effectively identical. In addition, proportionate increases over the next 20 years in the number of people with dementia will be much steeper in low and middle compared with high-income countries. The report also shows dementia is the leading cause of dependency and disability among older people. Conclusions: The rapid growth in numbers should urge governments and the World Health Organization to declare dementia a health priority and develop strategies to support services for people with dementia and their families. More research needs to be funded and conducted into the causes of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, pharmacological and psychosocial treatments, the prevalence and impact of dementia, and the prevention of dementia.