By : Lamiaa Moustafa Elbosaty
In Egypt, those above 60 years of age constitute nearly 8% of whole population, which is expected to increase over the next few decades. However, there are 200.000 cases of Alzheimer's disease which is expected to become one million case by year 2030 (Abyad et al., 2001).
Currently, dementia follows heart disease, cancer and stroke as the fourth leading cause of death among elderly people in the United States. There is one out of six people over age 65, are affected and out three families with a member aged 65 or older will include a person with dementia (Alzheimer's Association National Office, 2006).
The prevalence of dementia is estimated as 10% of adults over 65 years of age and 30% of those over 85 years of age, for individuals over 85 years of age with a first degree relative with dementia, prevalence approaches 50% (Kennedy, 2003).
The most common type of dementia is Alzheimer's disease, accounts for 60- 80%. Its incidence increases sharply with age ; it is estimated 0.5% per year from age 65 to 69, 1% per year from age 70 to 74, 2% per year from age 75 to 79, 3% per year from age 80 to 84, and 8% per year from age 85 on world (ADRDA, 2004).
While the second common type of dementia is vascular dementia, it accounts 15-30% of all cases of dementia; it is most common in people between the ages of 60 to 70 years and is more common in men than women. Other common types of dementia each representing less than 15% of all cases, include head trauma, alcohol-related dementia, dementia related to Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, Lewy bodies, normal-pressure hydrocephalus, vitamin B12 deficiency, and AIDS (Biswas et al., 2005).
Currently, an estimated 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease and by year 2050 the number of people with Alzheimer's disease will range from 11.3 to 16 million. In Europe, North America, and Australia the Alzheimer's disease is more common. However, vascular dementia is apparently more prevalent in a number of countries in the Far East. There is much less information about other parts of the world (Michel et al., 2002).In Egypt, those above 60 years of age constitute nearly 8% of whole population, which is expected to increase over the next few decades. However, there are 200.000 cases of Alzheimer's disease which is expected to become one million case by year 2030 (Abyad et al., 2001).
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