World Alzheimer's Report Another 3.2-second dementia diagnosis

New Alzheimer's Report: Huge increase in dementia
Around 1.5 million people in Germany suffer from dementia, the majority of them from Alzheimer's. Almost 47 million dementia patients live in the world. The new World Alzheimer Report now shows that the number of those affected is increasing dramatically.

Number of dementia patients will triple
On average, every third person anywhere in the world, someone falls ill with dementia. The widespread disease is spreading dramatically, leading to a huge financial burden on healthcare systems. As the news agency dpa reports, scientists said on Tuesday in London at the presentation of the 2015 World Alzheimer Report, that the number of those affected by the year 2050 would almost triple. The experts called on government and employers to invest more in prevention.

The number of dementia diseases is rising dramatically, according to the World Alzheimer Report. (Image: Sandor Kacso / fotolia.com)

Much of the disease in poorer countries
46.8 million people worldwide already have dementia. According to the report, it will be 74.1 million in 2030 and 131.5 million by 2050. About 60 percent of them live in poorer countries. Experts estimate the societal and economic costs at $ 818 billion a year (about 711 billion euros). It is said that in three years the limit of one trillion will be exceeded. "The rising cost of dementia will pose a serious challenge to health and social systems around the world," said Marc Wortmann, head of the Alzheimer Disease International (ADI).

Extent of the disease was underestimated
The ADI report was authored by researchers at London's King's College. Wortmann said governments around the world are called upon to provide better living conditions for people with dementia. According to the scientists, the costs rise much faster than the number of those affected. "We now believe that we underestimated the current and future extent of the disease by 12 to 13 percent in our 2009 World Alzheimer's Report," said co-author Martin Prince of King's College.

Exact causes of the disease still unclear
Nationwide, there are currently about 1.5 million people suffering from dementia. Most of them have Alzheimer's. Dementia is a collective term for various diseases common to the progressive decline of the nerve cells. They usually appear in the elderly, but young dementia patients find it particularly difficult, experts recently warned. Those affected lose their mental abilities, language and motor skills, and soon they can no longer cope with everyday life alone. While the exact causes of the disease are still unclear, scientists have identified a number of factors involved in the development and development of Alzheimer's disease. In addition to high age, these include a genetic predisposition, diseases such as diabetes mellitus type 2, metabolic syndrome, oxidative stress or inflammation. In addition, a recent study by a research team from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, found that consuming tobacco and alcohol may also increase the risk of dementia. (Ad)