Unprecedented rise in dementia cases globally by 2050: Claims GBD study

Unprecedented rise in dementia cases globally by 2050: Claims GBD study

According to The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study, the number of dementia cases reported worldwide may triple in the next 28 years, with maximum impact across Middle East, North Africa and eastern parts of sub-Saharan Africa, if no region-specific health policies are implemented by these governments to control the situation.

The study claims that the number of people suffering from the syndrome that affects their memory, learning capabilities and thinking process, will escalate from 57 million in 2019 to 153 million in 2050.

The data recently published indicates that the largest surge in cases will be seen across North Africa and Middle East by approximately 367%, followed by eastern sub-Saharan Africa, estimated at 357%.

According to the study, seven Middle Eastern countries will rank among the top 10 nations with highest rise in dementia cases.

Data suggests, Qatar will witness largest growth in cases by 1,926 percent, followed by the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain with 1,795%, and 1,084 percent growth respectively.

Some other countries to report significant rise in dementia cases are Oman, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, suggesting surge in cases by 943%, 898% and 850% respectively.

On the other hand, developing economies of Asia Pacific are found to register a relatively marginal rise in dementia cases from 4.8 million people in 2019, to 7.4 million, 53% rise in 2050, with Japan at the bottom with lowest rise in cases of just 27%.

Whereas, dementia cases across the Western Europe will shoot up by 74%, with UK estimated to report 75% rise, experiencing nearly 1.6 million cases of dementia in 2050.

Reportedly, dementia is the seventh most predominant cause of death worldwide and is one of the primary reasons for disability and dependency among older people, resulting in global costs associated with the syndrome to reach over $1 trillion in 2019.

Source Credits: https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-01-07/Dementia-cases-to-triple-by-2050-Africa-Middle-East-to-face-worst-16ByRYabR8Q/index.html