Dementia development even more dramatic than suspected

40,000 additional dementia sufferers annually, doubling the number of people affected by 2050

05/09/2012

The number of dementia patients in Germany is increasing dramatically. New calculations commissioned by the German Alzheimer's Association have shown that 1.4 million people with dementia already live in Germany and that the number is expected to double by 2050. Every year, around 300,000 new people fall ill with dementia.

According to the German Alzheimer's Association, Germany has 300,000 first cases of dementia every year. Due to "the demographic changes, there are far more new diseases than deaths among those already ill", according to the announcement of the company. This results in a continuous increase in dementia patients. The new calculations of the expert Dr. According to Horst Bickel of the Psychiatric Clinic and Polyclinic of the Technical University of Munich, about 40,000 per year. Overall, Bickel expects an increase of currently 1.4 million people with dementia to around three million in 2050 should no breakthrough be made in prevention and / or therapy.

More than 100 additional dementia patients a day
According to the figures of the German Alzheimer Society, 1.4 million people in Germany already suffer from the neurodegenerative disease dementia, two-thirds of them from Alzheimer's disease. For those affected, the disease is a massive cut in their lives. They are experiencing an increasing loss of their cognitive abilities and their memory. Relatively quickly those affected are dependent on full-time care, since they no longer find their way alone in everyday life. There is no prospect of successful treatment based on current medical knowledge. The expected further increase of 40,000 patients per year or more than 100 patients per day in the course of demographic change will therefore be a considerable challenge for society.

Dementia risk increases steeply with age
The chairman of the German Alzheimer's Society, Heike von Lützau-Hohlbein, spoke of "frightening numbers, which should be an incentive for all concerned to do more to ensure that people with dementia can lead a decent life today and in the future and their families appropriately Support received. "The new calculations of Dr. med. Horst Bickel are based "on the current prevalence rates determined by the umbrella organization Alzheimer Europe (Luxembourg) (percentage of sufferers in a certain age group)," reports the German Alzheimer's Association. These prevalence rates increase steeply with increasing age. For example, in the age group of 65 to 69 year olds they are at 1.6 percent, while they already reach 15.7 percent among the 80 to 84 year olds and 41 percent among the over 90s. According to the German Alzheimer's Association, two-thirds of those affected have already reached the age of 80, almost 70 percent of those affected are women.

Regional differences in dementia disorders
Due to the regionally different age structure of the population, the number of people affected in the individual federal states varies greatly. For example, the German Alzheimer's Association reports a rate of incidence of over 65 years in Brandenburg, which stands at 7.9 percent, while in Rhineland-Palatinate even nine percent of people over the age of 65 are affected. In the opinion of the experts, this is due to the difference in the age structure of persons over the age of 65 years. According to the figures of the German Alzheimer's Association, the absolute number of dementia sufferers is 314,000 in the most densely populated federal state, North Rhine-Westphalia.

Aging of the population causes increasing dementia
According to forecasts by the Federal Statistical Office, the number of persons over the age of 65 will increase by a further seven million over the next few decades. Against this background alone, a significant increase in dementia patients is to be expected. For their part, the "disproportionate increase in the number of very old adults" contributes to the growing prevalence of Alzheimer's and dementia, according to the German Alzheimer's Association. And nobody can say. "We did not expect that or we did not know that." The results of the current calculations are provided in detail by the German Alzheimer's Association in the information sheet "The Epidemiology of Dementia".

Alzheimer's and dementia research is in full swing
The figures of the German Alzheimer's Association make it clear that dementia will become a major challenge for society over the coming decades. Almost five percent of the population in Germany will suffer from the neurodegenerative disease in the year 2050, should no groundbreaking successes in treatment and prevention take place. Since the problem applies to many of the modern industrial nations, it seems hardly surprising that Alzheimer's and dementia research is currently running at full speed. In the past few years, significant successes in explaining the causes of the disease have already been achieved. However, scientists worldwide have so far failed to translate their findings into a promising method of treatment. The tried and tested therapeutic approaches only allow a delay in the course of the disease, but no cure.

A change in consciousness demanded for Germany
Meanwhile, the Institute for Social Research and Social Research in Saarbrücken called for "a shift in consciousness to frighten dementia". On behalf of the Federal Government, the scientists examined the different dementia strategies of the European countries. Four central aspects could improve the situation of dementia patients: adequate education, effective support of the sick and their family members, improved care and strengthening of research work. (fp, sb)

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