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Act on Dementia Today or Forget Tomorrow
21 September 2004
In a report released yesterday, Dementia Research: A Vision for Australia, leading health experts say they believe it will be possible to drastically reduce the number of people diagnosed with dementia in coming years and to reduce the effects of dementia for those affected – if there is a major boost in funding for research, prevention and early intervention strategies.
US Professor Zaven Khachaturian, who worked with Australian experts to develop the Vision, says: "Delaying the onset of dementia will lessen the number of Australians affected by the disease.
"Importantly, slowing the progression of dementia will have a dramatic impact on health costs, as people living with dementia for shorter periods will need less health care and community services."
A new study by Access Economics, Delaying the Onset of Alzheimer's Disease: Projections and Issues, confirms that delay in the onset of Alzheimer's disease (the largest single cause of dementia) could pay huge dividends in the longer term.
Delaying the onset of Alzheimer's disease by as little as five months would reduce the number of new cases each year by 5% and produce savings of $1.3 billion by 2020 and $6.6 billion by 2040.
Delaying the onset of Alzheimer's disease by five years would reduce the number of new cases each year by 50% and produce savings of $13.5 billion by 2020 and $67.5 billion by 2040.
In their Vision, the experts propose a four-part national action plan to delay the average onset of dementia by five years. The plan comprises:
- A $250 million investment in dementia research over five years. Even at this level, dementia research would represent less than 1% of the annual real costs of dementia.
- An ongoing public awareness campaign focussing on the potential to prevent or reduce the risk of developing dementia.
- Action to promote early diagnosis and intervention through better service coordination and effective training of doctors and health professionals in the diagnosis and ongoing treatment of dementia.
- The promotion of best practice in dementia care.
Glenn Rees, the National Executive Director of Alzheimer's Australia, says that: "As a consequence of the dementia epidemic, one million Australians are already providing some care for a person with dementia. For Australia's baby boomers and their children the issue will become even more critical in the coming decades. It is important that the major parties in the 2004 Federal election set out their vision to tackle the dementia epidemic, including increased funding for the research necessary to delay or slow the progression of dementia."
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