Study estimates that cases of dementia in the country could double in the next 50 years – Current Affairs – SAPO.pt

In a statement, the Santa Casa da Misericórdia Research Center clarifies today that the investigation, published in the ‘Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology’, concludes that in Portugal dementia “could double and reach 450 thousand cases in 2080, representing almost 5 % of the Portuguese population”.

To reach this result, the researchers used prevalence rates of dementia, by age and sex, based on two diagnostic criteria found in other national studies.

“These rates were applied to projections of the Portuguese population until 2080, for different population growth scenarios”, says the center, adding that the data point “to the significant weight in older age groups”.

According to the data, three out of every four people with dementia in 2080 are expected to be 80 or over. The study also points out that the disease will continue to be more common in women.

Quoted in the statement, the lead researcher, Sara Alves, highlights that this is “a pioneering study of trends in the prevalence of dementia in Portugal, which estimates the impact that this group of diseases could have in the country by 2080”.

In the coming decades, the number of people with dementia “is expected to increase, especially due to the rapid aging of the population.”

“Age is one of the main factors associated with the onset of this type of disease, which includes, for example, Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia”, the statement reads.

The study had the collaboration of researcher Natália Duarte, from CIDIFAD, but also Bárbara Gomes, from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Coimbra.

In view of the results of the study, the researchers argue that it is not only “urgent to implement national and regional health plans for dementia”, but also the implementation of measures for early diagnosis.

“There is much to be done in terms of preventing modifiable risk factors (sedentary lifestyle, diabetes, hypertension), increasing diagnostic capacity, creating specialized services in the community, including long-term care and palliative care, training and training of professionals and caregivers to respond to the challenges of the disease, increased awareness campaigns, and greater investment in research in this area”, adds Sara Alves.

The investigation was supported by the Norte 2020 program, which supports Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Riba D’Ave, in Vila Nova de Famalicão, in the district of Braga.

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