Dementia: assessment, management and support: summary of updated NICE guidance

### What you need to know Dementia describes a range of cognitive, behavioural, and psychological symptoms that can include memory loss, problems with reasoning and communication, and change in personality which impair a person’s ability to carry out daily activities. A report published by the Alzheimer’s Society in 2013 found there were about 815 000 people living with dementia in the UK (corresponding to a prevalence of 1 in 14 in people over 65 years old), and this number is expected to increase to 1 143 000 by 2025.1 In November 2017, there were 456 739 people on general practice registers with a formal diagnosis of dementia, up from approximately 290 000 people in 2009-10,2 with most of this difference accounted for by an increase in diagnosis rates. Despite this improvement in diagnosis, around 1 in 3 people with established dementia remain unrecognised, and around half of people living with dementia in England do not feel they are getting sufficient post-diagnostic support.3 This article summarises the most recent recommendations from the National Institute for …