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 The progressive condition can be caused by stroke, brain injury or
Alzheimer's disease. With populations ageing, the number of
sufferers is projected to rise to 78 million by 2030 and 139 million
by 2050, the WHO said in a report.
Only one in four countries has a national policy in place to support
dementia patients and their families, it said, urging governments to
step up to the public health challenge.
"Dementia robs millions of people of their memories, independence
and dignity, but it also robs the rest of us of the people we know
and love," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general.
"The world is failing people with dementia, and that hurts all of
us," he said.
Health ministers agreed in 2015 on a global action plan, including
early diagnosis and providing care, but are falling short on meeting
targets by 2025, it said.
"Dementia truly is a global public health concern and not just in
high-income countries. In fact, over 60% of people with dementia
live in low- and middle-income countries," Katrin Seeher, an expert
in WHO's department of mental health, told a news briefing.
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 Medication, hygiene products
and household adjustments for dementia patients
are more accessible in wealthy countries, which
have a greater level of reimbursement than in
lower-income countries, the report said.
Dementia affects memory, orientation, learning capacity, language,
judgement, and the ability to perform everyday tasks.
Seeher noted that dementia can also affect people aged below 65,
with so-called young-onset dementia accounting for around 10% of all
dementia cases.
But developing dementia is not inevitable and some risk factors can
be reduced, by controlling hypertension, diabetes, diet, depression,
and the use of alcohol and tobacco, the WHO said.
"These are the things that we can do to promote our brain health and
decrease the cognitive decline and the risk for dementia. These are
things that can be started at a younger age," said WHO expert Tarun
Dua.
(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; editing by Edwina Gibbs)
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