It appears a few major publications read the Brain Fitness for Life blog, because both Business Week and Time ran stories this week about the staggering costs of treating dementia after we ran our op-ed piece More reason to engage in brain exercise! Both the Business Week and Time article reference the current Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) report on The Global Economic Impact of Dementia.
In the new ADI report the global cost of dementia is estimated to be more than half a trillion dollars (yes with a T), US$604B to be exact. To put this in perspective that is roughly one percent of the world’s gross domestic product. The report’s estimated cost included direct costs of medical care in primary and secondary care settings, direct costs of social care provided in residential care settings, costs associated with community care professionals, plus unpaid informal care offered by family caregivers and others.
ADI estimates that with the current increase in dementia cases the cost of dementia related treatments will exceed the $1 trillion mark by 2030. Dementia is not just a problem in the United States, it is significantly affecting every health and social care system in the world. Currently, there are about 35 million affected by dementia worldwide, but that figure is expected to double over the next two decades!
The report makes some interesting comparisons to put things into perspective, for instance if dementia care were a country, it would be the world’s 18th largest economy. If it were a company, it would be the world’s largest by annual revenue, exceeding both Wal-Mart (US$414B) and Exxon Mobil (US$311B).
Another alarming highlight – the number of patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease is now greater than those with cancer or heart disease. However, dementia still tends to get less attention and research money than either.
Harry Johns, president and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association was quoted as saying, “this report clearly illustrates that dementia is already affecting health systems around the world, and for the families who are forced to face Alzheimer’s the anguish is universal. The World Alzheimer Report 2010 urges all countries — including the U.S. — to develop national plans to deal with the disease.” We are happy to report that Harry’s Breakthrough Ride (discussed in the post World Alzheimer’s Day is this Tuesday!) was a success. The Alzheimer’s Breakthrough Ride collected more than 100,000 petition signatures requesting that Alzheimer’s be made a national priority. On Tuesday, World Alzheimer’s Day, Johns’ team cycled onto Capitol Hill and delivered the signatures to Congress.
Engaging in brain fitness and playing brain games is increasingly becoming recognized as a potential method to decrease this societal burden. If you haven’t tried brain fitness yet, you can try it out for free by clicking here.