Older people’s risk of getting dementia is going down in the UK, research suggests. A study in the Lancet reveals a smaller proportion of older people living in Britain now have the condition than experts had predicted. Researchers say it could be a reflection of improving public health.
The work looks at three areas of England – Cambridgeshire, Nottingham and Newcastle – and compares dementia rates in people born 20 years apart.
Based on 1991 trends, experts had predicted 8% of over-65s would have dementia in 2011. The actual figure for 2011 turned out to be just over 6%, the Cambridge University team discovered.
Applied to the whole UK, it would mean there are 214,000 fewer cases of dementia than predicted – a 24% reduction.
This suggests there are 670,000 people living in the UK with dementia, rather than the 800,000 – 900,000 figure that experts currently cite.