Around 9.19 million people in China had dementia in 2010, compared with 3.68 million 20 years earlier, according to a study on Friday that throws a spotlight on an emerging health crisis.
In what its authors say is the most detailed study into age-related mental health in China, the paper says prevalence of dementia there is rising far faster than thought and the country is ill-equipped to deal with the problem.
Reporting in the journal , a team trawled through 89 academic studies published in English and Chinese between 1990 and 2010.
Their aim was to go beyond previous probes where data was sketchy, and derive estimates on the basis of internationally-recognised diagnoses.
They calculate that in 2010 there were 9.19 million people with dementia in China, of whom 5.69 million had Alzheimer’s.
This compares with 3.68 million cases of dementia in 1990, of whom 1.93 million had Alzheimer’s.
