Dementia – the facts

Dementia is a terminal condition but people can live with it for 7–12 years after diagnosis.

Key data for the UK includes the following:(2)

• approximately 700,000 people have dementia


• in 30 years the number of people with dementia is expected to double to 1.4 million


• the national cost of dementia is about £17 billion per year


• in the same 30 years, the cost will treble to over £50 billion per year (3)


• dementia is predominantly a disorder of later life, but there are at least 15,000 people under the age of 65 who have the illness


• its incidence (the number of new cases per year) and prevalence (the number of cases at any one time) rise exponentially with age


• it affects men and women in all social groups


• people from all ethnic groups are affected by dementia. The current number of people with dementia in minority ethnic groups is around 15,000, but this is set to rise sharply


• the level of UK diagnosis and treatment of people with dementia is generally low, with a 24-fold variation between highest and lowest activity by PCT


• international comparisons suggest the UK is in the bottom third of European performance for diagnosis and treatment, with less than half the activity of France, Sweden, Ireland and Spain.
  

Source:

(2) Knapp M, Prince M, Albanese E et al (2007). Dementia UK: The full report. London: Alzheimer’s Society.

(3) Comas-Herrera A, Wittenberg R, Pickard L and Knapp M (2007). ‘Cognitive impairment in older people: future demand for long-term care services and the associated costs’. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 22:10, 1037–45.