A third of Britons born in 2015 will develop dementia

The charity commissioned the Office of Health Economics to make the projections.

Research shows that smoking increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and strokes – all underlying risk factors for dementia. Yet when researchers investigated post-mortem brains with Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, they found that tau acetylation was one of the first signs of pathology, even before tau tangles were detectable.

“Dementia is the second leading cause of death in Australia and the single greatest cause of disability for people over 65, ” said Dr Maria O’Reilly, research fellow in the Dementia Collaborative Research Centre at the recent release of a new dementia respite care guidebook.

The new findings take into account both the growing numbers of older people (population ageing), and new and better evidence on the number of people living with dementia, and costs incurred.

The study suggests that the condition will affect 27% of boys born in 2015 and 37% of girls. He said that “These figures underline a stark reality: as people are living longer, more and more people will develop dementia if action is not taken now to tackle the condition”.

Sunderland-born Denise spoke out after cutting the ceremonial ribbon at the Alzheimer’s Society Memory Walk that attracted a record-breaking 2,500 people from across the North East to the Gateshead Quayside.

The Alzheimer Society’s head of advocacy, Tina Leonard, called on the Government to integrate dementia prevention into the national public health programmes alongside other major non-communicable diseases.

The Western Trust is using today’s World Alzheimer’s Day to raise awareness of the exceptional work ongoing in Altnagelvin Hospital through the dementia friendly project. Early screening is needed to slow down the progress of Alzheimer’s, which has no permanent cure, according to doctors. “A person struck by dementia doesn’t just lose their past, but also often their relationship with their spouse, their children, their grandchildren, their friends and their acquaintances, and that’s a tragedy for the whole family”, she said.

That’s why it is critical to ensure people with the disease are well supported in their communities so they can remain active and independent with quality of life for as long as possible.

“We urgently need long-term, sustainable research funding that is proportionate to the economic and social impact of the condition”.