"China's Dementia Patient Increase Rate Among World's Highest... Impact of Aging 'Twice as Severe'"

"When the Number of Patients Worldwide Doubled, China's Quadrupled"
"Expected to Reach 115 Million by 2050"

A new study has found that the rate of increase in dementia patients in China is among the highest in the world, driven in part by the aging of the baby boomer generation.

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on May 16 that researchers from Fudan University in China recently published their findings in the scientific journal PLOS ONE.

A doctor at the Alzheimer's Research Institute examining a PET brain scan. Photo by AP Yonhap News

According to the study, which analyzed World Health Organization data on trends in the number of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia patients in 204 countries and regions worldwide from 1990 to 2021, the increase in the burden of dementia in China was significantly steeper compared to global averages.

The number of dementia patients worldwide rose from about 22 million in 1990 to 57 million in 2021. In China, the number of dementia patients increased from 4 million to 17 million during the same period. While the number of dementia patients globally more than doubled, in China, it surged by more than four times.

The rate of increase in dementia-related deaths was also steep. In China, the number of dementia deaths rose from 120,000 in 1990 to 490,000 in 2021, an increase of more than fourfold. Globally, dementia deaths increased from 660,000 to 1.95 million during the same period, nearly tripling.

The researchers noted that the pronounced increase in the burden of dementia in China cannot be attributed to a single cause. However, they identified population growth and aging as key contributing factors. China experienced significant population growth during the first baby boom in the 1950s, and as this generation enters old age, the country is undergoing rapid aging.

The researchers stated, "Population growth was the most important cause of the increase in dementia deaths and incidence rates in both China and globally. Aging had a negative impact not only on deaths worldwide and in China, but also on the incidence rate in China." They added, "Previous studies have indicated that by 2050, 152 million people worldwide will be affected by dementia. China, which is one of the countries experiencing more severe aging, had over 13 million dementia patients in 2019, and this number is expected to reach 115 million by 2050."