The Context

Low and middle income countries are currently experiencing unprecedented rates of demographic ageing, leading to rapid increases in the absolute numbers of older people and their proportion among the total population. At the same time, changing habits and lifestyles are leading to increases in the incidence of chronic non-communicable diseases, just as childhood, maternal and infectious diseases are beginning to be controlled (the health transition). Already nearly two-thirds of people with dementia live in Low and Middle Income Countries (LAMICs). However, these numbers will increase sharply over the next 20 to 40 years, giving little time for poorer nations to develop the raft of social and healthcare reforms that will be necessary to meet this challenge. Research into risk factors for dementia in developing countries will help to plan future prevention strategies in these regions, as well as possibly providing new insights into risk factors that were not apparent from research that was limited to developed countries with their fairly homogenous lifestyles and predominately Caucasian populations.

Demographic ageing
The health transition
Global burden of dementia
Developed/ developing country differences
Risk factors for dementia