The Massive Global Cost of Alzheimer’s Revealed in Landmark Report

A landmark report on the Global Economic Impact of Dementia finds that Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are exacting a massive toll on the global economy, with the problem set to accelerate in coming years. “The World Alzheimer Report 2010,” issued by Alzheimer’s Disease International (United Kingdom), provides the most current and comprehensive global picture of the economic and social costs of the illness. The Report reveals that the worldwide costs of dementia will exceed 1% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2010, at US$604 billion. The Report also warns that the number of people with dementia will double by 2030, and more than triple by 2050, with the costs of caring for people with dementia posed to rise even faster than the disease’s prevalence.  The Report urges the global community to take immediate actions. Most notably, Alzheimer’s Disease International urges that governments worldwide should act urgently to make Alzheimer’s disease a top priority and develop national plans to deal with the social and health consequences of dementia.  The organization also asks that governments and other major research funders must increase research funding to a level more proportionate to the economic burden of the condition. As well, the Report warns that governments worldwide must develop policies and plans for long-term care that anticipate and address social and demographic trends and have an explicit focus on supporting family caregivers and ensuring social protection of vulnerable people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.