The number of Thais suffering from Alzheimer’s disease is expected to increase from about 600,000 last year to over 1 million by 2030, a senior health official said on Wednesday.
Permanent secretary for public health Suwannachai Wattanayingcharoenchai said Alzheimer’s disease was the most common form of dementia that affected mental health.
He said every 68 seconds someone somewhere developed this disease with the number of patients worldwide now totalling over 50 million, Manager Online reported.
This disease was one of the biggest global public health challenges and authorities in all countries must be prepared to provide treatment for patients suffering from memory loss.
World Alzheimer’s Day, on Sept 21 every year, is dedicated to raising awareness about Alzheimer’s and the impact of the disease on people’s mental health.
In Thailand, 3-5% of the population suffered from this disease. People aged over 85 accounted for 30% of the patients, he said.
Last year, around 600,000 Thais suffered from the disease. By 2030, the number of Alzheimer’s patients was expected to rise to 1,117,000, he said.