And if steps are not taken to reduce the risks and delay the onset of the condition, nearly 1.4 billion hours of care will be required annually – the equivalent of more than 690,000 full-time jobs – to support the 1.7 million Canadians who will have dementia by 2050, said the report, published on Tuesday. Number of people living with dementia and number of new cases of dementia per year in Canada, 2020 to 2050 In thousands THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: ALZHEIMER SOCIETY CANADA Number of people living with dementia and number of new cases of dementia per year in Canada, 2020 to 2050 In thousands THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: ALZHEIMER SOCIETY CANADA Number of people living with dementia and number of new cases of dementia per year in Canada, 2020 to 2050 In thousands THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: ALZHEIMER SOCIETY OF CANADA Without much change in current trends, the number of people with dementia and the number of people caring for them “will be enormous,” said Saskia Sivananthan, lead researcher at the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada. But that amount of growth is not inevitable, he said. By investing in addressing modifiable risk factors that improve brain health, “as a government and as a country, we can start to change and shift some of these numbers down.” The report, titled Navigating the Path Forward for Dementia in Canada, is the first in a series from the agency’s Landmark study, which uses computer models and demographic data from Statistics Canada to predict the impact of dementia in the country the next 30 years. Two additional reports, looking at the social and economic impact of dementia, will be published in the coming months, the Alzheimer Society of Canada said. In 2020, an estimated 597,300 people had some form of dementia in Canada, with an incidence rate of 348 new cases diagnosed per day, the report released Tuesday showed. Common forms of dementia include Alzheimer’s dementia, a later stage of Alzheimer’s disease, and vascular dementia, which occurs from a lack of blood flow to the brain. There were 350,000 unpaid carers for people with dementia, which includes family members, friends and neighbours, in 2020. They provided an average of 26 hours of care each week, totaling 470 million hours of care each year. Based on current trends, the report said that by 2050 both the number of people with dementia and the number of carers will almost triple. The projections did not take into account any possible effects of COVID-19, said Joshua Armstrong, a scientist at the Alzheimer Society of Canada who wrote the report. He explained that there is a lack of data on how stressors related to the pandemic or the virus itself might affect these estimates. The report, however, showed that improving efforts to reduce the risks and delay the onset of dementia could lead to millions fewer cases. If everyone delayed developing dementia by a year, there would be almost 500,000 fewer new cases by 2050, the projections showed. If everyone delayed developing dementia by 10 years, there would be more than four million fewer new cases by 2050. Some risk factors, such as age and genetics, cannot be modified, but the report highlighted several risk factors, including lack of education, hearing loss, social isolation, physical inactivity and air pollution. It provided a list of steps people can take, such as being physically and socially active, getting six to eight hours of quality sleep a night, avoiding excessive alcohol use, seeking treatment for depression, avoiding head injuries and using hearing aids if needed . Dr. Armstrong emphasized the need for communities, public health agencies and other government agencies to help individuals. “They can only be modified if people have the support and resources to modify them,” he said. Dr. Sivananthan added that it’s important to try to reduce multiple risk factors, as a series of small changes can have a cumulative effect. The report offered recommendations aimed at organizations, health systems and various levels of government. A is for the federal government to spend and fully fund the national dementia strategy, a road map released by Ottawa in 2019. Its recommendations for provincial and territorial governments include improving education for all ages and providing assistance workplaces that provide flexible support for carers. Roger Wong, a clinical professor of geriatric medicine at the University of British Columbia, said he hopes the report will lend more support to dementia care. Dr. Wong, who was not involved in the study but chairs the Alzheimer Society of Canada’s research and knowledge committee, also expressed a desire for policymakers to promote research and public education on the issue. “Now that we know, we have to do something about it,” he said. Our Morning Update and Afternoon Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.
