| 28 Novembre 2017
Alzheimer’s disease most often affects the elderly, which means we will see a significant increase in cases as we enter an aging population phase in many countries of the world. Japan, especially, will see a fast growth in Alzheimer’s cases due to their large elderly population, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
GlobalData’s Alzheimer’s epidemiology analysis in the seven major markets (7MM*), showed that Japan will see an increase of total prevalent Alzheimer’s cases in those ages 60 years and older from 3.5 million cases in 2016 to 4.9 million cases in 2026, corresponding to an annual growth rate of 4%, highest among the seven major markets analyzed. This is due to both a large increase in the most elderly population in Japan (ages 80 and older) and to Japan having one of the highest disease prevalence rates in elderly women in the 7MM.
Kasey Fu, Healthcare Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The key driver of the projected growth of the Alzheimer’s burden in Japan is the elderly population, which composes 20% of the total population in Japan, making it the society with the highest proportion of elderly in the world. Secondly, the age-specific prevalence of Alzheimer’s also played a role in this trend.”
Alzheimer’s prevalence increases with age meaning more people will develop the disease as they get older. In Japan, 7% of men aged 75 to 79 years and 16% of men aged 90 years and older have Alzheimer’s. In women, the trend is even steeper, as 7.3% of women aged 75 to 79 years and more than 59% of those aged 90 years and older have Alzheimer’s.
Fu continues: “Another potential cause of the rise in the total prevalent cases of Alzheimer’s is the increased prevalence of metabolic disorders, such as diabetes and hypercholesterolemia, which have been associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s.
“Research suggests that the management of Alzheimer’s faces critical challenges with respect to resources, funding, and prioritization by governments worldwide. Consequently, it is important to establish effective prevention strategies for Alzheimer’s in countries where the elderly population is rapidly increasing.”
*7MM = US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK and Japan
