Key Findings
The number of people with Alzheimer’s disease worldwide was 46.8 million in 2015 and is expected to reach 74.7 million in 2030 and surpass 131.5 million in 2050.
There will be 9.9 million new cases in 2015, with an average of one person developing Alzheimer’s disease every three seconds.
The majority of new cases will occur in low- and middle-income countries: in 2015, 58% of the world’s Alzheimer’s disease patients lived in today’s low- and middle-income countries, increasing to 63% in 2030 and 68% in 2050.
The global cost of Alzheimer’s disease care totaled $818 billion in 2015. In just three years, this amount will increase to $1 trillion, and in 2030 it will be as high as $2 trillion.
Between 2010 and 2015, the global social cost of Alzheimer’s disease has increased by 35%.
The latest data for 2015 shows that the global Alzheimer’s disease population is worryingly 12 to 13 percent higher than the estimates in the Alzheimer’s Disease International 2009 Global Alzheimer’s Disease Report;.
East Asia was the region with the most Alzheimer’s disease patients worldwide in 2015 (9.8 million), followed by Western Europe (7.4 million), closely followed by South Asia (5.1 million) and North America (4.8 million).
The Alzheimer’s Disease Association International calls for
i. Countries should develop Alzheimer’s disease policies and emphasize community-based models of care by implementing the following.
Raise awareness of Alzheimer’s disease Create Alzheimer’s disease-friendly communities and eliminate the negative label of Alzheimer’s disease Promote Alzheimer’s disease risk reduction and early diagnosis measures
Helping families with Alzheimer’s disease have easier access to information and supportive services
Help Alzheimer’s disease users receive equitable access to community and residential long-term care services, and improve Alzheimer’s disease
standards of care when hospitalized
Commit to a person-centered model of care that reduces the use of medications and physical restraints through training.
Raising awareness of Alzheimer’s disease in the workplace
Use of technological aids to help Alzheimer’s disease live at home while expanding coverage in rural areas.
To make people understand the right of people with Alzheimer’s disease to enjoy a high quality of life with dignity and in accordance with their wishes.
hospice care.
Call for strengthening primary care services as an important key to the health care system’s response to the challenges of Alzheimer’s disease.
Call on the World Health Organization to prioritize and plan actions to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, and to set targets and indicators.
Call for a significant increase in research funding and a more even distribution of funding across research, including prevention, treatment, care and cure research. Also, design specific workflows for low- and middle-income countries to develop programs to enhance Alzheimer’s disease awareness and improve the capacity of health systems with the participation of partners in these countries.
Support the Global Alzheimer’s Disease Observatory, coordinated by the World Health Organization, to support and monitor policy development, monitor the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease, assess prevention opportunities and implementation and impact, and monitor the progress and global coverage of available treatment and care resources.
VI. It is recommended that each country develop a national Alzheimer’s disease plan or strategy as an indicator of action across government, and that countries regularly monitor the results of the plan and update it when appropriate.