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Document Type

Editorial

Abstract

Dementia is a syndrome characterized by a decline in cognition and memory severe enough to interfere with daily life activities and is one of the major causes of disability and dependency in elderly worldwide with Alzheimer’s disease being the most common cause of dementia (1). 703 million individuals (9% of the world’s population) are more than 65 years of age and this number will double by the end of 2050 reaching 1.5 billion (16% of the world’s population) (2). Ageing has been the fastest in Eastern and South Eastern countries (3). Despite being a global health priority, with significant social and economic consequences, not much progress has been made regarding the diagnosis and management of patients with dementia especially in low and middle income countries (LMICs) like Pakistan (WHO, 2020) (4). Pakistan is a developing, heavily populated Southeast Asian country with an estimated population of 207 million, out of which 12.5 million (7% population) is above 60 years and this number is expected to reach 40 million by 2050 (5). Despite having a high ratio of elderly population, limited resources are available for their health care (6). Dementia care needs to be addressed at all levels given the rapid increase in elderly population (7). In Pakistan there are barriers to care of patients with dementia (PwD), including but not limited to lack of awareness, research, and education.

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