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Reduce Dementia Risk. Act Early.

 Why Early Diagnosis Matters

The Lancet Commission’s 2024 update reports that addressing 14 modifiable risk factors across the life course: hearing loss, hypertension, diabetes, smoking, physical inactivity, depression, social isolation, air pollution, high cholesterol in midlife and untreated vision loss in late life, could prevent or delay a substantial share of cases (up to ~45%). Beyond prevention, earlier diagnosis enables safer care, treatment of comorbidities, planning, and caregiver support, areas that reduce crises and high-cost hospital use.

Put plainly: dementia is not just memory loss, and it’s not inevitable aging. It’s a growing humanitarian and economic crisis, felt most where access to timely diagnosis and ongoing care is limited, and one where prevention, earlier detection, and caregiver training can measurably improve outcomes.

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Most common cause of dementia

Alzheimer’s disease accounts for roughly 60%–70% of cases. Other common causes include vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, and frontotemporal dementia; mixed dementia, overlapping brain changes from more than one disease—is frequent in older adults. These distinctions matter for care planning, safety, and symptom management, even though many families first encounter dementia through similar early signs such as memory loss, disorientation, or changes in judgment and behavior. (Sources: WHO and U.S. National Institute on Aging.) 

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Introduction to Dementia 

Dementia is a group of brain disorders, most often Alzheimer’s disease, that steadily impair memory, thinking and daily function. It is accelerating with population aging and straining families, health systems and budgets, with the heaviest impact where access to timely diagnosis and support is limited.

 

According to the Alzheimer’s Association’s 2025 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts & Figures report (https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/facts-figures), about 7.2 million Americans age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s dementia, a total projected to approach 12.7–13.8 million by mid-century if no disease-modifying breakthroughs emerge. Health and long-term care costs tied to dementia are projected at $384 billion in 2025—before counting unpaid caregiving, while nearly 12 million Americans provide about 19.2 billion hours of unpaid care valued at $413 billion a year. 

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According to the World Health Organization (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dementia), Globally, dementia affected about 57 million people in 2021 and remains the seventh leading cause of death. More than 60% of people with dementia live in low- and middle-income countries, and numbers will rise sharply as populations age. Independent estimates from Alzheimer’s Disease International suggest 139 million people could be living with dementia by 2050. 

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Dementia (Neurodegenerative Health)

Dementia isn’t just “memory loss.” It’s a family of brain diseases that impair thinking, behavior, and daily function, driven most often by Alzheimer’s disease. It’s a growing humanitarian and economic crisis that disproportionately affects communities facing barriers to early diagnosis and continuous care.

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