A study published by the prestigious Lancet scientific journal suggested that all Gulf countries, in addition to Iraq and Jordan, are among the top 10 countries for dementia growth, with an increase of more than 500 percent over 2019 levels. The study predicted that the countries of the Middle East will be at the forefront of the rise in dementia cases within the next three decades, as the region is forced to confront the health effects of its aging population.

Researchers said that Qatar could witness the largest increase in the world with an increase in cases from 2019 to 2050 by 1926 percent, followed by the UAE with 1795 percent, then Bahrain, which could also see an increase in cases by 1084 percent, and in Oman it may grow At a rate of 943 percent, in Saudi Arabia it is 898 percent, while the percentage in Kuwait may reach 850 percent, reports Al-Rai daily.

According to the study, the region will witness the fastest growing number of people with Alzheimer’s disease in the world due to lifestyle changes associated with population growth and aging.

The study authors say they studied dementia in general without focusing on a specific type, as health experts distinguish between different types of disease, such as vascular dementia or cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer’s. Experts say such huge increases will put more pressure on the region’s health care systems and families that have traditionally cared for the elderly at home.

In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries, the number of people with dementia, classified by the World Health Organization as the seventh cause of death in the world, and that could rise from nearly 3 million to nearly 14 million, an increase of 367 percent, the highest in any country in the world according to the study.

It should be noted that a research paper published in 2020 suggested that up to 40 percent of cases of dementia could be prevented or delayed if 12 known risk factors, such as smoking, depression, lack of physical activity, social isolation and air pollution, were avoided. This alarming study predicts that the number of dementia cases will triple by 2050 if countries do not act to address the factors that lead to the disease.

Study lead author Emma Nichols, of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, said the study’s findings provide global decision-makers with a new understanding of disease etiology.

The study adopted a mathematical model that concluded that by 2050, the number of cases of the disease may move from 57 million to 153 million cases, with the number of deaths from the disease in the United States rising from 5.2 million to 10.5 million deaths.


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