The dementia epidemic is unfolding quickly throughout the nation.
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With India’s aged inhabitants anticipated to contact 20 crore in 2031, there’s a rising demand for a nationwide motion plan to sort out rising circumstances of Alzheimer’s , the commonest type of dementia which may impair reminiscence and considerably decrease high quality of life.
Estimates based mostly on a current multi-centric examine reveal a dementia prevalence charge of seven.4% amongst these aged 60 years and above, translating to practically 9 lakh Indians at present dwelling with dementia. From an estimated 88 lakh in 2016, the prevalence of dementia is projected to improve to 1.7 crore by 2036. The examine titled ‘Prevalence of dementia in India: National and State estimates from a nationwide study’ was printed in July this 12 months in Alzheimer’s and Dementia, the journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.
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A. B. Dey, former head of the division of Geriatric Medicine at AIIMS, New Delhi, who’s the co-principal investigator of the examine, mentioned it revealed that States like Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha and West Bengal reported a lot greater charges of dementia. “This is contrary to the earlier belief that southern States with higher ageing populations would have a higher prevalence rate of dementia,” he mentioned.
In 2012, WHO declared dementia a public well being precedence and launched the Global Action Plan on the public well being response to dementia (2017 – 2025), which emphasises vital areas akin to dementia consciousness, danger discount, prognosis, therapy, caregiver help, and analysis.
Despite advances in drug improvement, danger discount stays the solely confirmed prevention device, Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI), the international federation of over 100 Alzheimer’s and dementia associations, has warned. Calling on governments round the world to urgently fund dementia risk-reduction analysis, schooling, and help providers, ADI has mentioned that just about 40% of projected dementia circumstances might be delayed or probably even prevented by addressing the danger elements. While 40 governments worldwide have to date developed nationwide dementia plans, the proposal is but to achieve momentum in India.
Cost implications
According to a examine printed in the Indian Journal of Public Health in 2013, the value of dementia care in India in 2010 for 37 lakh individuals was ₹23,300 crore yearly. It is estimated that the households of 88 lakh individuals with dementia can be spending about ₹1,18,902 crore to deal with their kin with dementia in a 12 months at current. The enormity of the financial burden on the households to deal with 1.7 crore individuals with dementia in 2036, based mostly on the present projections can be about ₹3, 08,395 crore yearly, experts identified.
P.T. Sivakumar, professor and Head of the Geriatric Psychiatry Unit at NIMHANS, mentioned dementia is a significant public well being downside requiring multi-sectoral intervention to deal with the complete spectrum of providers from prevention to rehabilitation and caregiver help. There is widespread ignorance, low consciousness, and stigma surrounding this situation main to virtually 90% of individuals by no means getting a prognosis, he mentioned.
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“India contributes to more than 15% of the global prevalence of dementia. This estimate is much higher than the prevalence estimated earlier based on smaller studies. The burden due to dementia is not merely due to the increasing number of cases. It is compounded by the extent of caregiver burden and the lack of adequate health and social care services,” the physician mentioned.
“The lack of an effective cure for dementia necessitates the urgent requirement of a comprehensive national action plan for dementia to address this public health challenge.”P.T. Sivakumar, professor and Head of the Geriatric Psychiatry Unit at NIMHANS
NIMHANS and Dementia India Alliance (DIA) are working with the Karnataka authorities on chalking out a Karnataka State Dementia Action Plan. DIA president Radha S. Murthy mentioned the State-level plan will align with WHO’s international motion plan, positioning Karnataka as a pioneer in India to formulate a complete motion plan for dementia.
Dr. Dey mentioned the framework for the nationwide dementia motion plan needs to embrace consciousness technology, early detection, medical administration and long-term care planning. “The Lancet Commission on dementia has been regularly updating the modifiable risk factors. There is a need for healthcare providers and the general public to be educated about these risk factors to prevent dementia. The Longitudinal Aging Study in India Diagnostic Assessment of Dementia (LASI DAD) Wave 1 has provided information on several such risk factors and the ongoing Wave 2 is also focusing on new risk as well as protective factors. Diet seems to have an important protective role,” he added.
(yasmeen.afshan@thehindu.co.in)
