According to the report, by 2050, 153 million people worldwide will have dementia

The US "Newsweek" website published an article on January 6, saying that a new report shows that by 2050, 153 million people worldwide will suffer from dementia. The paper, published in The Lancet, says that global dementia cases will nearly triple from 57 million in 2019 due to population growth and aging.

People with dementia in the United States are expected to increase from nearly 5.3 million in 2019 to more than 10.5 million in 2050. The study's authors looked at 195 regions around the world and predicted that the worst would be Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, with increases of 1926% and 1795% respectively.

The study also outlines how the increase in people with dementia is associated with several important risk factors such as smoking, obesity, high blood sugar and low education.

Hillary Evans, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Research Centre uk, said: "Dementia is our biggest long-term medical challenge. These staggering numbers shed light on the staggering scale of dementia worldwide. Today, 57 million people are already surviving this catastrophic disease. Concerted global action is needed to avoid another tripling of this number. ”

"Dementia not only affects individuals, but also wreaks havoc on entire families, as well as relatives and friends," she said. Dementia has a heartbreaking personal cost on the one hand, and a huge economic and social impact on the other, giving governments around the world all the more reason to do more to protect lives today and in the future. ”

The study authors note that increased education could reduce dementia cases globally by about 6.2 million by 2050. But at the same time, factors such as obesity, hyperglycemia and smoking will also increase dementia cases by 6 million to 8 million.

According to the World Health Organization, dementia is currently the seventh leading cause of death in the world and one of the leading causes of disability and loss of independence in the elderly. WHO estimates that the global financial burden of the disease exceeded US$ 1.3 trillion in 2019.

Source: Reference News Network