Alzheimer\u2019s and other dementia-related diseases could become the number one killer in Canada.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>.<\/p>\n With life expectancy in the country reaching nearly 82 years in 2024, the number of Canadians living past retirement age is expected to climb.<\/p>\n \u201cThe older people get, the more we are seeing dementia,\u201d said Dr. Howard Chertkow, the scientific director of Baycrest\u2019s Kimel Family Centre for Brain Health and Wellness<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cAge 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\u2019t have any treatment aside from mild symptomatic treatment. We don\u2019t have any treatment for the dementias or Alzheimer\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n Chertkow said the centre, the first of its kind in Canada, focuses on brain health and on preventing dementia for older people at risk.<\/p>\n With World Alzheimer\u2019s Day<\/a> taking place on Sunday, it\u2019s a good time to bring awareness of the disease.<\/p>\n There are more than 25 diseases and conditions that can cause dementia, with Alzheimer\u2019s being the most common. It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n In Australia, dementia has become the leading cause of death, surpassing heart disease.<\/p>\n The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare said dementia was responsible for nearly 17,400 deaths in 2023 \u2014 almost one in 10 \u2014 and people diagnosed with the disease could exceed one million in that country without government intervention, according to a report<\/a>.<\/p>\n Chertkow noted that Alzheimer\u2019s is the only one of the 10 leading chronic illnesses among the elderly in Canada that doesn\u2019t have any meaningful treatments.<\/p>\n He calls that \u201castonishing\u201d as both diagnoses and deaths from Alzheimer\u2019s and other dementias continue to rise.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are huge numbers of people getting the diseases, having the diseases, dying from the diseases,\u201d Chertkow said.<\/p>\n If there are no advances in prevention and treatment for diseases like Alzheimer\u2019s, he said it will eventually overtake other causes deaths.<\/p>\n While Chertkow said the future may sound bleak, there is some good news.<\/p>\n Researchers, clinicians and dementia professionals attended an Alzheimer\u2019s conference in Toronto this past July and shared theories, breakthroughs and best practices.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cCanada hits above its weight in the area of dementia research,\u201d Chertkow said. \u201cIt\u2019s been a very strong research community.\u201d<\/p>\n