Improved health will not cut dementia rates, says study

Improving general
health will not cut dementia rates which will rise in step with the
ageing population, according to research out today.

The study of over
13,000 people by the Medical Research Council finds no significant
variation in dementia rates between five areas with different
health outcomes.

In all areas, dementia
increases with age, which suggests the number of cases will rise
inexorably with the ageing population.

The number of people
aged 85 or over is expected to quadruple over the next 50 years,
and in this group one person in 15 develops dementia every year,
compared to one in 70 for those aged 75 to 79.

Study from www.mrc.ac.uk.