A young female caretaker attends to an old lady at an elder care facility in Shenyang, Northeast China's Liaoning Province. Photo: VCG

 



With the acceleration of the aging population, China has become the country with the largest number of Alzheimer's patients in the world and the incidence of Alzheimer's disease in the country is occurring at an increasingly younger age, a report showed. 

About 15.07 million people aged 60 and above in China have dementia, of which 9.83 million have Alzheimer's disease, according to a report titled "Alzheimer's patients demand insight report" which was released on Wednesday in Beijing at a themed meeting. September 21 marks World Alzheimer's Day.

The data showed that the highest proportion of people diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease for the first time was in people aged 60 to 79 years, accounting for 62.1 percent of the total. But people with Alzheimer's disease who are aged below 60 accounts for 21.3 percent, a proportion higher than patients with Alzheimer's disease in their early stages reported internationally, which is between 5 percent to 10 percent.

It indicates incidence of Alzheimer's disease in China is striking at an increasingly younger age.  

The report warned that this category of population is still in working ages, calling for early screen and diagnosis. According to the report, over 60 percent of patients with Alzhemier's disease have yet to be screened with 12.8 percent unaware of the need for screening. 

Lu Lin, academician from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and president of the Sixth Hospital of Peking University, explained at the meeting that the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease in China is rising, with 5-6 percent over the age of 65, 10 percent at the age of 70 and 48 percent at the age of 90. 

The global challenge in dealing with Alzheimer's disease is significant, but there is no specific drug for Alzheimer's disease at present, and prevention is an effective means to deal with the disease, Lu said, suggesting having a healthy lifestyle, proper exercise and adequate sleep all contribute to preventing Alzheimer's disease.

Global Times