One in three people born in 2015 'will develop dementia', claims research

This bleak forecast of a looming health crisis has prompted calls to the Government to improve investment into dementia research as a matter of urgency.

The study, which was commissioned by Alzheimer’s Research UK, took into account life expectancy estimates for people born in 2015, as well as estimates of dementia incidence in men and women of different ages and from the findings calculated that 32 per cent of people born in Britain this year will go on to develop some form of dementia in their lifetime.

The problem is more severe for women, with 37 per cent of girls born in 2015 likely to develop the illness eventually, compared with 27 per cent of boys, according to the newly published figures.

George McNamara, head of policy at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Dementia is already the biggest health challenge this country faces. It costs the UK in excess of £26 billion, which equates to £30,000 per person with dementia - more than the cost of either cancer or heart disease. Today's stark finding should galvanise the Government and us all into action.

“We urgently need long-term, sustainable research funding that is proportionate to the economic and social impact of the condition. Alzheimer's Society has committed at least £100m to research over the next decade. The quicker we see better investment, the sooner we will get the answers we need to develop treatments, ways of preventing dementia and ultimately a cure.”

He also called on the Government to try to fight stigma around the condition, which he claimed leads to many “being shunned and excluded from society when at their most vulnerable”.

Dementia, where damage to brain cells can harm memory, speech, concentration and movement, affects 850,000 people in the UK at present, the charity estimates. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause. The number of sufferers is predicted to pass two million by the middle of this century.