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Dementia named as the health crisis of the 21st century
The World Alzheimer Report 2010 released today is sounding alarm bells to the global economic impact of dementia and suggests that world governments, including Canada, are not prepared. The total estimated worldwide costs of dementia are US$604 billion in 2010, accounting for around 1% of the world’s gross domestic product.
According to the World Alzheimer Report 2010, if dementia were a country, it would be the world’s 18th largest economy, ranking between Turkey and Indonesia. If it were a company, it would be the world’s largest by annual revenue exceeding Wal-Mart (US$414 billion). The report reaffirms the overall message from the Canadian Rising Tide study released earlier this year by the Alzheimer Society.
“We know that without action now there will be a significant impact on our B.C. healthcare system and the families providing care for loved ones living with the disease,” explains Jean Blake, CEO, Alzheimer Society of B.C. “People need to increase awareness about the disease because early diagnosis can lead to better health care outcomes and a better quality of life on the dementia journey and research is the only way we can find a cure.”
Other findings from the World Alzheimer Report 2010:
- The number of people in the world with dementia will double by 2030 and more than triple by 2050
- Low income countries accounted for just under 1% of total worldwide costs and 14% of the prevalence
- Middle-income countries accounted for 10% of the costs and 40% of the prevalence
- The costs of caring for people with dementia will rise faster than the prevalence. Costs of informal care (unpaid care provided by families and others) and the direct costs of social care (provided by community care professionals and in residential home settings) contribute similar proportions (42%) of total costs worldwide, while direct medical care costs are much lower (16%)
The full World Alzheimer Report 2010 explaining the methodology, results, conclusions and references to sources is available free from www.alz.co.uk/worldreport.
