Week 2: How common is dementia in Canada and around the world?

How common is dementia in general?

 

• 8 - 10% of people over 65 years of age
• 20 - 30% of people over 80
• 50 - 60% of people in long-term care institutions

 

Globally

 

According to the World Health Organization, 47.5 million people have dementia worldwide, with 58% living in low- and middle-income countries. Every year, there are 7.7 million new cases. The estimated proportion of the general population aged 60 and over with dementia at any given time is around 5 to 8 per 100 people. The total number of people with dementia is projected to increase to 75.6 million in 2030 and almost triple to 135.5 million by 2050 if no effective treatments are discovered. Much of this increase is attributable to the rising numbers of people with dementia living in low- and middle-income countries.

 

Canada

 

• 5% of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s budget invested in dementia research

 


• 16,000 Canadians under the age of 65 live with dementia


• 25,000 new cases of dementia are diagnosed every year
• 56,000 Canadians with dementia are being cared for in hospitals
• 564,000 Canadians are currently living with dementia


• 937,000 Canadians will be living with the disease in 15 years 


• 1.1 million Canadians are affected directly or indirectly by the disease


• $10.4 billion as the annual cost to Canadians to care for those living with dementia

 

For more information, please refer to the following: 


The Alzheimer Society of Canada report The Rising Tide 

Full report - Prevalence and Monetary Costs of Dementia in Canada, Alzheimer Society of Canada (2016) 

Executive summary - Prevalence and Monetary Costs of Dementia in Canada: A Report by the Alzheimer Society of Canada (2016)


Sources - Reference for Dementia numbers in Canada

United Kingdom

 

According to the UK Alzheimer's Society, there are around 800,000 people in the UK with dementia. One in three people over 65 will develop dementia. The number of people with dementia is increasing because people are living longer. It is estimated that by 2021, the number of people with dementia in the UK will have increased to around 1 million.

 

United States of America

 

The number of Americans living with Alzheimer's disease is growing fast. In 2016, an estimated 5.4 million Americans of all ages have Alzheimer's disease

• Of the 5.4 million Americans with Alzheimer's, an estimated 5.2 million people are age 65 and older, and approximately 200,000 individuals are under age 65 (early-onset Alzheimer's disease)
• One in nine people aged 65 and older have Alzheimer's disease
• By mid-century, someone in the United States will develop the disease every 33 seconds

These numbers will escalate rapidly in the coming years, as the baby boomer generation has begun to reach age 65 and beyond - the age range at greatest risk of Alzheimer's disease. By 2050, the number of people aged 65 and older with Alzheimer's disease may nearly triple, from 5.2 million to a projected 13.8 million.