The BBC recently reported on new figures from the Office for National Statistics showing that the number of people dying with Alzheimer’s and dementia has risen by 6% over the last decade. Alzheimer’s and dementia was the second most common cause of death in women in 2011, accounting for over 10% of all female deaths.
Dr Marie Janson of Alzheimer’s Research UK, said:
“These figures provide a stark reminder of the growing burden of dementia and we must take them seriously. Technical changes to how the figures were calculated this year may have contributed to some of the rise seen over the last decade, with more accurate classification of vascular dementia. With a rapidly aging population in the UK, and more people living beyond 80, dementia is a condition that society cannot afford to ignore.
“It is heartening to see that mortality from other serious diseases is falling, but we must provide the same answers for people with dementia. Funding for research into dementia lags far behind that of other diseases – for every dementia scientist, six work on cancer. We must ensure that research into dementia remains a national priority if we are to head off this looming health crisis.”
Read the full report from the Office of National Statistics here.
This material has been published with the kind permission of Alzheimer Research UK.
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