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New Research Shows Global Prevalence of Young-Onset Dementia
A recent systematic review and meta-analysis mapping rates of young-onset dementia found that 119 per 100 000 patients between the ages of 30 and 64 are affected, according to the research published in JAMA Neurology.
“Reliable prevalence estimates are lacking for young-onset dementia, in which symptoms of dementia start before the age of 65 years. Such estimates are needed for policy makers to organize appropriate health care,” wrote Stevie Hendriks, MSc, Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Alzheimer Centre Limburg, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands, and co-researchers.
Researchers aimed to determine the global prevalence of young-onset dementia.
Population-based studies with data on dementia in patients younger than 65 years published between January 1, 1990, and March 31, 2020, were gathered from PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycInfo.
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A total of 95 studies met the inclusion criteria for this systematic review. Of 95 studies, 74 were included in a meta-analysis assessing 5-year age bands from 30 to 34 years and 60 to 64 years.
“Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted to pool prevalence estimates. Results were age standardized for the World Standard Population,” wrote Dr Hendriks et al.
The prevalence of young-onset dementia in the 30 to 34 aged subgroup was 1.1 per 100 000 patients, and prevalence of young-onset dementia in the 60 to 64 aged subgroup was 77.4 per 100 000 patients.
Researchers found the overall global age-standardized prevalence of young onset dementia for patients aged 30 to 64 to be 119 per 100 000 patients.
Rates of diagnoses between men and women were similar, while prevalence was lower in high-income countries when compared with middle- and low-income counties.
“These prevalence estimates show the importance of young-onset dementia worldwide; policy makers could use this information to organize sufficient health care for young people living with dementia,” concluded Dr Hendriks et al.
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