Younger onset dementia places further strain on aged-care

The number of young people now being diagnosed with dementia is rising, a situation which will place even more pressure on the country’s aged care system. The rise is the subject of an examination to be conducted by Sydney researchers, the first such research study in Australia. Professor Brian Draper from the school of psychiatry at the University of NSW says as many as one in 750 Australians may be affected by younger onset dementia before the age of 65. International data had previously put that number at around one in 1000 people. This increase is at least partially because of the high number baby boomers who are moving through the population say Professor Draper. Younger onset dementia in those aged 48-65 is of increasing public concern he said, because more people were being diagnosed but their needs were not being met by existing services, which are geared more towards aged care. Those patients had a range of illnesses including Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia and brain infections. Preliminary research identified 141 people in the eastern suburbs of Sydney alone with younger onset dementia.