Dementia Affects Nearly 10 Million People In OECD

Dementia is a devastating disorder both for the individual, the family and caregiver. The disorder is progressive slowly resulting in loss of speech, reasoning, memory and other cognitive functions. The risk of Dementia increases with advancing age but not everyone who gets old develops the disorder. Despite extensive research for the past 30 years, no cause or cure has been found. The few drugs available to control the symptoms often have potent adverse effects and are not well tolerated. What is not always appreciated is that dementia numbers are on the rise. Prevalence of dementia globally has increased. Once thought to be a disorder of western society, Dementia rates are rapidly increasing globally. This degenerative disorder is expected to place enormous demands on the healthcare system and long term providers as the population ages.
Dementia has a slow onset and initially is very difficult to diagnose. There is no laboratory parameter which can be used as maker. Healthcare workers use their clinical judgement to make the diagnosis of the disorder. Unfortunately the initial memory loss and confusion are often attributed to normal effects of aging and are simply ignored.
In fact many cases of Dementia remain undiagnosed and hence the prevalence rates are gross underestimates. A recent cross national survey conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) indicates that dementia affects nearly 10 million people in OECD countries which is about 7% of the population over age 65.
The study also revealed that Dementia was the most common form of dementia and accounted for nearly 80% of cases of dementia in OECD countries. World-wide there are anywhere from 30- 36 million individuals with Dementia.
While the numbers of Dementia cases are low at age 65, they nearly double every 5 years after age 65.
The cost of looking after Dementia patients is not minuscule. The world-wide costs for dementia care are more than $600 billion. This costs include informal care provided by family, social welfare provided by social workers and direct costs of medical care. The key caregivers for patients with Dementia are family members, especially during the initial stages of the disorder. In the USA, it is estimated that such informal care for patients with dementia costs over $18 billion/year and is rapidly increasing.
As the disease progresses, care of these patients becomes very difficult for most families and caregivers. There are mounting social and financial costs, which can be challenging even in most western countries. The challenge is even greater in less developed countries where the numbers of people with dementia appears to be growing rapidly. Newer studies project that by 2050, there will be over 115 million people globally living with Dementia. Because of the seriousness of the illness, there is now a global effort to determine the cause and hopefully find a cure.
Dr. David Tal has more than twenty years of clinical experience. He strongly believes that medical treatment can improve the life of Dementia and memory loss patients.