Things About Dementia and Alzheimer You Should Know

At 90, more people don’t have dementia than do

By the time people get to 90 years old, they are more likely not to have any diseases that cause dementia than to have one.

Phipps said dementia research is behind a lot of other research because there is an extra mountain to climb. Because people think dementia is inevitable, they are less likely to want to support and fund research.

Almost half of adults don’t realize it causes death

A survey by Alzheimer’s Research UK found that 51% of adults recognize that dementia leads to death. That means almost half don’t realize, even though it’s the UK’s leading cause of death.

“These are physical diseases that ultimately are terminal — they will shorten your life,” Phipps said. “But people don’t recognize that, and again this just shows there is a lack of seriousness about it.

“You hear people joke about it, like, ‘Oh have you got Alzheimer’s?’ And actually, you wouldn’t joke about someone having another fatal illness. It’s not appropriate in society to do that. But people will still do that about dementia because they don’t recognize that diseases that cause dementia like Alzheimer’s are terminal. They will end your life too soon.”