The Prevalence of Dementia in Europe and in Slovenia

Abstract

Dementia is becoming an increasingly important public health priority that will continue to increase due to the population aging and longevity. Appropriate national assessment of dementia prevalence is essential for properly planing the actions needed to address dementia. The purpose of this work was to identify the known prevalence of dementia in Europe and in Slovenia in the last twenty years, as well as to produce an estimation for 2018 and a projection for 2030 based on population data in Slovenia. The PubMed database search engine was used. We searched for hits in various combinations and reviewed the literature on the prevalence of dementia in Europe and in Slovenia. Estimates of dementia revalence for Slovenia were not found in the reviewed literature; we calculated it based on Slovenian data for 2018 and projections for 2030. Dementia prevalence rates in Europe have not changed significantly in most age groups in recent decades. In Slovenia, in 2018, the age-standardized prevalence rate for those aged 65 and over was 6.9%, for women 8.8% and for men twice lower, and according to the projection for 2030 it was 7.2% for men, 9.0% for women, which was twice as much as in men. The gross prevalence rate for dementia in people aged 65 and older in Europe ranges from 5.9% to 9.4%. The results of all studies show that the prevalence is increasing with increasing age, that it is higher and it is increasing earlier and faster in women (80–84 years) compared to men (85–89 years). The prevalence of dementia in women was twice as high as that of men and was increasing more rapidly with age. In Slovenia we can expect an increase in the number of people with dementia in the next ten years, primarily due to the aging of the population and extending of the life expectancy.