Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health
World Alzheimer Report Reveals Massive Cost of Most
Significant Health Crisis of Century
After becoming a senior citizen at age 65, the
likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s roughly doubles every five years.
Sept. 21, 2010 - A landmark report on the Global
Economic Impact of Dementia finds that Alzheimer’s disease and other
dementias are exacting a massive toll on the global economy, with the
problem set to accelerate in coming years. The World Alzheimer Report
2010 – issued on World Alzheimer’s Day by Alzheimer’s Disease
International (ADI) – provides the most current and comprehensive global
picture of the economic and social costs of the illness.
“This is a wake-up call that Alzheimer’s disease
and other dementias are the single most significant health and social
crisis of the 21st century,” said Dr Daisy Acosta, Chairman of ADI.
“World governments are woefully unprepared for the social and economic
disruptions this disease will cause.”
The Report was jointly authored by Professor Anders
Wimo of the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; and Professor
Martin Prince, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, UK.
The Report reveals:
● The worldwide costs of dementia will exceed
1% of global GDP in 2010, at US$604 billion.
● If dementia care were a country, it would be
the world’s 18th largest economy. If it were a company, it would be the
world’s largest by annual revenue exceeding Wal-Mart (US$414 billion)
and Exxon Mobil (US$311 billion).
● The number of people with dementia will
double by 2030, and more than triple by 2050.
● The costs of caring for people with dementia
are likely to rise even faster than the prevalence – especially in the
developing world, as more formal social care systems emerge, and rising
incomes lead to higher opportunity costs.
● Reports from individual countries such as the
UK suggest that dementia is one of the costliest illnesses – and yet
research and investment is at a far lower level than for other major
illnesses.
“The scale of this crisis cries out for global
action,” said Marc Wortmann, Executive director of ADI. “History shows
that major diseases can be made manageable – and even preventable – with
sufficient global awareness and the political will to make substantial
investments in research and care options.”
“This new Report gives us the clearest, most
comprehensive picture yet of the global economic and social costs of
dementia,” said Prof Anders Wimo.
“In this World Alzheimer Report 2010, we merged the
best available data and the most recent insights regarding the worldwide
economic cost of dementia. This enabled us to provide more detailed
estimates than before, by making use of recently available data that
considerably strengthens the evidence base.”
The Report combines the most current prevalence
data from the World Alzheimer Report 2009 with improved data on low and
middle-income countries from the 10/66 Dementia Research Group studies
in Latin America, India and China. The Report uses representative
population-based samples from developing countries to better quantify
the cost of informal care systems that have previously been excluded
from impact estimates.
Co-author Professor Martin Prince urged nations to
develop better plans for caring for the millions who have the disease.
“The care of people with dementia is not just a health issue – it is a
massive social issue,” said Prof Prince. “This is particularly true in
low and middle income countries which lack adequate systems of formal
care. Governments must show greater leadership, working with all
stakeholders, to drive solutions to the long term care issue.”
Recommended Actions
The Report urges the global community to take the
following immediate actions:
● Governments worldwide should act urgently to
make Alzheimer’s disease a top priority and develop national plans to
deal with the social and health consequences of dementia. Several
countries have moved forward to develop national plans, including
France, Australia and England. It is critical for other governments to
follow suit.
● Governments and other major research funders
must increase research funding to a level more proportionate to the
economic burden of the condition. Recently published data from the UK
suggests that a 15-fold increase is required to reach parity with
research into heart disease, and a 30-fold increase to achieve parity
with cancer research.
● Governments worldwide must develop policies
and plans for long-term care that anticipate and address social and
demographic trends and have an explicit focus on supporting family
caregivers and ensuring social protection of vulnerable people with
Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.
● The scale of what is facing us elevates this
to a global challenge, which must be addressed as a top WHO priority and
on the G-20/G-8 agenda.
Ruth Sutherland, Interim Chief Executive of
Alzheimer’s Society, said: “These shocking statistics provide yet more
proof that we cannot afford to ignore the growing global dementia
crisis. These sky high figures represent not only a huge economic burden
but also reflect the immeasurable impact dementia has on the lives of
millions of people across the world.
“There are 750,000 people living with dementia in
the UK and this number is set to reach a million within a generation. If
we are to transform lives and reduce costs we need to act now. The
government must lead the way in ensuring national dementia strategies
are fully implemented and dementia research is given the funding it so
desperately needs. “
Notes:
● Dementia is a syndrome that can be caused by a
number of progressive disorders that affect memory, thinking, behavior
and the ability to perform everyday activities. Alzheimer’s disease is
the most common type of dementia. Approximately 0.5% of the world’s
total population live with dementia and this will grow exponentially.
After age 65, the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s roughly doubles
every five years. At the age of 85, the odds of a person developing it
are close to 50 percent. In the World Alzheimer Report 2009, ADI
estimated that there are 35.6 million people living with dementia
worldwide, increasing to 65.7 million by 2030 and 115.4 million by 2050.
● The Report can be found at
www.alz.co.uk/worldreport.
● World Alzheimer’s Day is observed on September
21 every year to raise awareness about the impact of Alzheimer’s and
other dementias.
● Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) is the
international federation of 73 Alzheimer associations around the world.
Each member is the Alzheimer association in their country who support
people with dementia and their families. It was founded in 1984 as a
network for Alzheimer associations around the world to share and
exchange information, resources and skills. ADI is based in London and
is registered as a non-profit organization in Illinois, USA. ADI has
been in official relations with the World Health Organization since
1996. ADI’s vision is an improved quality of life for people with
dementia and their families throughout the world.
● The Institute of Psychiatry is a school of
King’s College London and one of the world’s largest post-graduate
centres for research and teaching in psychiatry, psychology, and allied
disciplines, including basic and clinical neurosciences. King’s College
London is one of the top 25 universities in the world (2010 QS
international world rankings), The Sunday Times “University of the Year
2010/11”) and the fourth oldest in England. A research-led university
based in the heart of London, King’s has nearly 23,000 students from
nearly 140 countries, and some 5,500 employees. King’s is in the second
phase of a £1 billion redevelopment programme which is transforming its
estate.
● King’s College London and Guy’s and St
Thomas”, King’s College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS
Foundation Trusts are part of King’s Health Partners. King’s Health
Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC) is a pioneering global
collaboration between one of the world’s leading research-led
universities and three of London’s most successful NHS Foundation
Trusts, including leading teaching hospitals and comprehensive mental
health services. For more information, visit:
www.kingshealthpartners.org.
● Karolinska Institutet is one of the world’s
leading medical universities. Its mission is to contribute to the
improvement of human health through research and education. Karolinska
Institutet accounts for over 40 per cent of the medical academic
research conducted in Sweden and offers the country´s broadest range of
education in medicine and health sciences. Since 1901 the Nobel Assembly
at Karolinska Institutet selects the Nobel laureates in Physiology or
Medicine. For more information, see the university’s website:
http://ki.se.
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