Strong increase in Alzheimer's patients

Alzheimer's: Doubling of the diseases in Germany and tripling in the US

02/07/2013

The number of Alzheimer's diseases in the US is expected to triple by 2050, according to a recent study. In Germany, too, experts at the German Alzheimer's Association predict that the number of Alzheimer's patients will more than double by the year 2050.

The research team led by Liesi Hebert of the Rush Institute for Healthy Aging in Chicago has published in the journal "Neurology" an updated estimate of the development of Alzheimer's disease in the US from 2010 to 2050. Thus, by the year 2050, the number of Alzheimer's patients in the United States is expected to increase to 13.8 million, with seven million people aged 85 and over.

Number of patients with Alzheimer's dementia increases dramatically
The US researchers evaluated for their study, the data of 10 800 subjects from a period of nearly 20 years. All participants came from Chicago, were at least 65 years old and were examined every three years for dementia or Alzheimer's disease. The calculated disease risk was combined with mortality and population estimates in the US to predict Alzheimer's disease. In 2011, 4.7 million people aged 65 and over had Alzheimer's disease, according to researchers in the US. Around 1.8 million of those affected were older than 85 years. According to the researchers, according to the researchers, the number of Alzheimer's patients will almost triple by 2050, with the proportion of over 85-year-olds rising particularly sharply. „The number of people with Alzheimer's disease in the United States will increase dramatically over the next 40 years unless preventive measures are developed“, so the conclusion of Liesi Hebert and colleagues.

Also in Germany doubling of Alzheimer's disease until 2050
For Germany, the German Alzheimer's Association expects a dramatic increase in Alzheimer's and dementia diseases by 2050 due to demographic trends. Since the risk of disease generally increases in old age, demographic change almost inevitably brings with it a massive increase in dementia patients. Based on the prevalence rates in the various age groups, the number of Alzheimer's patients will more than double by 2050, according to the German Alzheimer's Association. Because the prevalence rate increases strongly with the age. For example, in the age group 65-69, it is 1.6 percent, while it reaches 15.7 percent among 80-84-year-olds and 41 percent among over-90s. Therefore, the current figures of around three million people with dementia in 2050 are estimated. According to the German Alzheimer's Association, about 1.4 million people in Germany already suffer from dementia, two-thirds of them from Alzheimer's. One way to cure or prevent effective prevention is not yet known. (Fp)

Picture: Gerd Altmann