The number of people with dementia is projected to double to 65.7 million by 2030, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) said today, noting that lack of diagnosis remains a major problem even in high-income countries, where only a fifth to half of cases are routinely recognized.
Treating and caring for the estimated 35.6 million with dementia at present costs the world more than $604 billion per year, including the cost of providing health and social care, as well the reduction or loss of income for patients and their caregivers, WHO said in a report produced jointly with the Alzheimers Disease International, entitled Dementia: a public health priority.
According to WHO, dementia is a syndrome, usually of a chronic nature, caused by a variety of brain illnesses that affect memory, thinking, behaviour and ability to perform everyday activities. Alzheimers disease is the most common cause of dementia and possibly contributes to up to 70 per cent of cases.

Only eight countries worldwide currently have national programmes in place to address dementia, ac-cording to the report, which recommends that programmes focus on improving early diagnosis; raising public awareness about the disease and reducing stigma; and providing better care and more support to caregivers.
We need to increase our capacity to detect dementia early and to provide the necessary health and so-cial care, said the Assistant Director-General responsible for Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health at WHO, Oleg Chestnov. Health-care workers are often not adequately trained to recognize dementia.

The study highlights a general lack of information and understanding about dementia, a factor that fuels stigma, contributing to the social isolation of both patients and their caregivers and leading to delays in seeking diagnosis, health assistance and social support.

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