Dementia in China: Current status

There are 177 million people aged 65 and older living in China, the only country in the world where the elderly population is so large. Dementia is the most common worldwide neurodegenerative disease of aging, and 20% of patients with dementia live in China.1 It has been estimated that the Chinese proportion of elderly will reach 30.4% in 2050, which will include 100 million elderly people over 80 years old.2 This rapid increase in patients with dementia in the near future will increase public health and social and economic burden. We aim to illustrate the current status of dementia in China with regard to prevalence, diagnosis, treatment, and care. ### Prevalence. According to previous epidemiologic investigations, the prevalence of dementia in China was thought to be between 3% and 5% of the elderly population, with Alzheimer disease (AD) the majority, with prevalence around 2%–4%.3,4 Hereditary and geographic factors, lifestyle, diet, and education can influence the prevalence …