World Alzheimer's Day: Dementia to Affect 1 in 3 Born In U.K. This Year, Study

Just before the World Alzheimer's Day on September 21, it was announced that this year, one in three born in UK is expected to develop dementia, according to a new study. There is urgent need to take action to combat the illness, says Alzheimer's Research .

Currently, dementia has impacted 850,000 people in the U.K., even as the number of patients goes up with the rise in world population as well as life expectancy.

It was a study that was undertaken by the Office of Health Economics  that "calculated the number of people born today who would likely develop dementia in their lifetimes," according to hngn.

There is an estimation that 32 percent of, or one in three people born in the U.K. in 2015 will contract the illness. Hence, 27 percent of males and 37 percent of females from this population will develop it.

So far research has mooted a treatment that could delay the onset of dementia by five years, and cut down the global dementia cases by a third.

"These figures underline a stark reality: as people are living longer, more and more people will develop dementia in the future if action is not taken now to tackle the condition. It's wonderful news that each generation is living longer than the last, but it's important to ensure that people can enjoy these extra years in good health. Dementia is our greatest medical challenge and if we are to beat it, we must invest in research to find new treatments and preventions," said Matthew Norton, Head of Policy at Alzheimer's Research UK.

"If we could delay the onset of dementia by five years, we could reduce the number of people living with the condition by a third. Research has the power to transform lives, and our actions now will help determine the future for children born today. The hundreds of thousands of families affected by dementia now deserve to know that we are fighting for them," he concluded.