Dementia deaths ‘will quadruple by 2040’

THE NUMBER of people who die from dementia is set to almost quadruple in coming years, a new study has found.

Increasing numbers of deaths from the condition will contribute to a rocketing number of people who will need end-of-life care, researchers added.

By 2040, it is estimated 219,409 people in England and Wales will die from dementia – a significant rise from 59,199 in 2014.

Experts called for urgent action to address the growing need for end-of-life care services. The study, in the journal BMC Medicine, saw experts analyse mortality statistics for England and Wales from 2006 to 2014.

Researchers from the Cicely Saunders Institute at King’s College London then calculated the proportion of people who need palliative care, and corresponding rises over the nine-year period. They estimated that by 2040, the annual number of deaths in England and Wales will rise by 25.4 per cent to 628,659.

They concluded palliative care needs will rise by 42.4 per cent by 2040.

This would mean that 160,000 more people in England and Wales will need such care by 2040.

“By 2040, national data suggests there will be a rise in the prevalence of chronic progressive illnesses, and we believe that many of these will require symptom relief and palliative care,” said lead author Dr Simon Noah Etkind from the Cicely Saunders Institute.

“We estimate that at least 85 per cent of deaths in 2040 will require some form of palliative care.”