Dementia diagnoses in England reach record high

Record numbers of people in England are being diagnosed with dementia, new figures have revealed.

The data from NHS England, which cover people of all ages, showed that 487,432 people were diagnosed with dementia in June this year. This was almost 5% more than the figure of 465,516 for the same time last year, and 0.65% more than the figure of 484,277 for May 2024.

Dementia diagnosis rates are currently the highest they have been since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to NHS England. It acknowledged that the NHS has more to do to meet its ambition to diagnose 66.7% of the total number of people estimated to be living with some form of the disease.

However, dementia diagnosis rates have yet to return to prepandemic levels. The estimated dementia diagnosis rate fell by 5.4% between March 2020 and February 2023, from 67.4% to 62%.

Dr Jeremy Isaacs, national clinical director for dementia, NHS England said, "NHS staff have worked hard to recover services with the number of people with a diagnosis rising significantly over the last year, and now at a record level."

Read full story

Source: Medscape, 23 July 2024