Worldwide cost of dementia now $604 billion - or 1% of global GDP - and growing

A landmark report on the global economic impact of dementia finds that Alzheimer's disease and other dementias are exacting a massive toll on the global economy, with the problem set to accelerate in coming years. The worldwide costs of dementia will exceed 1% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2010, at $604 billion, and increase to $1,000 billion a year by 2030. Action is needed from governments around the world, the report urges.

The World Alzheimer Report 2010 - issued on World Alzheimer's Day by Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI) - provides the most current and comprehensive global picture of the economic and social costs of the illness. The Report was jointly authored by Anders Wimo of the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; and Martin Prince, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, UK.

Most significant health crisis of 21st Century