Greece also impacted by rising dementia cases

The prevalence of dementia on a global level is also impacting Greece, with research suggesting a sharp rise of 45% by 2050.

A study by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (Seattle, USA) on the prevalence of dementia by 2050 at a global level, published a few months ago in international scientific journal The Lancet Public Health, showed that people with dementia worldwide will triple by 2050 (from 57.4 million in 2019 to 152.8 million).

There were about 206,400 people living with dementia in Greece in 2019 and this figure is projected to rise to 298,600 by 2050.

“The main cause is the increase in life expectancy. The condition is more common in older age groups and as the population over 80 years of age increases, so does the pool of people at risk of developing dementia,” Nikolaos Skarmeas, professor of neurology at the Athens School of Medicine, said in comments to Kathimerini.