What to read about dementia

DEMENTIA IS A global emergency. More than 55m people are estimated to live with it. That is more than can be looked after humanely. Most new cases are in the developing world, where populations are growing and ageing and resources are stretched. Yet health authorities do not regard it as among the world’s most pressing medical issues. One reason may be that the biggest reason for its rise is something to be cheered: in most countries, people are living longer. And dementia does not arrive at the viral speed of a pandemic but at the plodding, relentless pace of demographic change. Its full effects will not be felt until far into the future. The number of people with dementia is expected to rise to 82m by 2030 and to more than 150m by 2050. Despite recent advances in treatment that may delay the progress of Alzheimer’s—the most common of the dozens of causes of dementia—no cure for the condition is in the offing. And no society has devised a sustainable way to provide and pay for the care that dementia patients will need. Yet it is a condition almost everyone in the world has some contact with. Here is a selection of reading about dementia that provides an overview of the many different aspects of the subject.