With dementia cases set to double in the next two decades, governments must raise public awareness to improve both prevention and the quality of life of people it affects, an international concern group has urged.
Robert Yeoh, an activist with Alzheimer's Disease International, a London-based non-profit group, said that the number of dementia patients globally is expected to increase to 72 million from 36 million in the next 20 years. That increase is being driven by the growing number of older adults, aggravated by poorly funded health care systems in many nations.
The public should be better informed about the impact of dementia on day-to-day life and the miseries it can cause for the families of patients, Yeoh said.
Victims can often grow grumpy when they become forgetful, and may take it out on their loved ones.
'Can you imagine how it feels when you are accused of stealing by a [dementia-affected] spouse - who can't find what he or she is looking for - after 40 years of marriage?' he said.
In Hong Kong, the need is clearly growing: dementia has overtaken diabetes to move on to the list of the city's top five killers among non-communicable conditions, after cancer, heart diseases, stroke and chronic lower respiratory disease.