Alzheimer’s and other dementia-related diseases could become the number one killer in Canada.

By the end of the decade, there will be nearly 1 million people living with some form of dementia in the country, according to the Alzheimer Society of Canada.

With life expectancy in the country reaching nearly 82 years in 2024, the number of Canadians living past retirement age is expected to climb.

“The older people get, the more we are seeing dementia,” said Dr. Howard Chertkow, the scientific director of Baycrest’s Kimel Family Centre for Brain Health and Wellness.

“Age is also the risk factor for cancer, heart disease, and stroke. They are all related to aging. The difference is that we have increasing good treatments for many of the cancers, stroke and heart disease. The mortality from these other diseases is falling, whereas we really in Canada don’t have any treatment aside from mild symptomatic treatment. We don’t have any treatment for the dementias or Alzheimer’s.”

Chertkow said the centre, the first of its kind in Canada, focuses on brain health and on preventing dementia for older people at risk.

With World Alzheimer’s Day taking place on Sunday, it’s a good time to bring awareness of the disease.

There are more than 25 diseases and conditions that can cause dementia, with Alzheimer’s being the most common. It’s a disease of an aging brain that causes memory loss, problems with thinking, problem solving, language, and changes in mood or behaviour that affect daily life.

In Australia, dementia has become the leading cause of death, surpassing heart disease.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare said dementia was responsible for nearly 17,400 deaths in 2023 — almost one in 10 — and people diagnosed with the disease could exceed one million in that country without government intervention, according to a report.

Chertkow noted that Alzheimer’s is the only one of the 10 leading chronic illnesses among the elderly in Canada that doesn’t have any meaningful treatments.

He calls that “astonishing” as both diagnoses and deaths from Alzheimer’s and other dementias continue to rise.

He also estimates that, in five years, there will be about 9 million Canadians who are 65 or older. Of those, between 15% and 20% will have some form of dementia or cognitive issues.

“These are huge numbers of people getting the diseases, having the diseases, dying from the diseases,” Chertkow said.

If there are no advances in prevention and treatment for diseases like Alzheimer’s, he said it will eventually overtake other causes deaths.

While Chertkow said the future may sound bleak, there is some good news.

Researchers, clinicians and dementia professionals attended an Alzheimer’s conference in Toronto this past July and shared theories, breakthroughs and best practices.

Of the approximately 8,000 people who attended and participated in the conference, about 15% of the presentations were by Canadian researchers and their university students.

“Canada hits above its weight in the area of dementia research,” Chertkow said. “It’s been a very strong research community.”

Chertkow is also the scientific director for the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging, which is funded by the federal government to bring together groups of researchers across the country to share the latest science, clinical work and assess the health-care system.

It’s important to catch the disease at an early stage so that treatments like medication and advice such as getting more exercise, eating a better diet, losing weight and other lifestyle changes can help manage the condition, he said.

In addition, if a person is noticing a change in their cognitive ability, Chertkow said to get checked out.

“There are things that can be treated or reversed that affect memory,” he said, pointing to medications, sleeping pills, sleep apnea and even cannabis use as potential causes.

“You can’t just assume it’s the beginning of Alzheimer’s (and) nothing can be done.”