Alzheimer’s will be a massive public health problem in the future

By April Clarkson, May 7th, 2013 | Health | 0 Comments

Unless there are significant scientific advances, the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease will triple in the next 40 years.
It’s always been clear that Alzheimer’s disease is on the increase, because of the aging of the population. It’s essential to have some idea of how many people might develop the disease in coming years, so that public health planning can allow for it.

A study from the Rush Institutte on Healthy Aging, and others, reveals a stark prospect for the future. The prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease is set to go up 20 per cent by 2020, 60 per cent by 2030, and as much as 300 per cent by 2050 - unless medical science can find some answers.

The team estimates that currently 5.2 million people have Alzheimer’s disease and they use US census projections to get their figures for the future. The predicted increase could overwhelm and even destroy the US healthcare system, they say. So it is vital to put more money and effort into Alzheimer’s research. It is the aging of the population which is causing the massive proposed increase in Alzheimer’s disease. Research needs to try to prevent people developing dementia or delay it so that they die of something else first.