Women hit hardest by effects of dementia

Women are hit hardest by the dementia epidemic sweeping Britain, according to a new study.

The illness is not only the leading cause of death among British woman, but they are are also far more likely to end up as carers of those with dementia, Alzheimer’s Research UK has found.

The charity warned women are suffering physical and emotional stress and having to give up their jobs as a result.

Hilary Evans, director of external affairs at the charity, said: “Dementia has a devastating impact on all those whose lives it touches, but it’s a ‘triple whammy’ for women – more women are dying of dementia, more women are having to bear the burden of care and more women working in dementia research are leaving science.

“The experiences of these women underline the urgent need to tackle the diseases that cause this life-shattering condition.

“In recent decades we’ve seen increased investment in areas like cancer have a real impact, and we need to emulate that success for dementia.

“Only through research can we find ways to treat and prevent dementia, and transform the lives of the hundreds of thousands affected.”

The report, which will be published next month at the Women of the World Festival, highlights the huge toll of dementia on women in the UK.

It found that more than 500,000 women are now affected by dementia, whereas about 350,000 men have the condition.

Women over 60 are now twice as likely to get dementia as breast cancer.

And women are more than two-and-a-half times more likely than men to provide intensive, 24-hour care for people with the illness.

Research conducted by the Alzheimer’s Society suggests there are 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK costing the country £26 billion a year.

Two-thirds, £17.4 billion, of the cost of dementia is paid by people with dementia and their families, either in unpaid care, estimated to be £11.6 billion, or in paying for private social care.

This stands in contrast to other conditions, such as heart disease and cancer, where the NHS provides care that is free at the point of use.

George McNamara, head of policy at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Dementia is the biggest health and care challenge facing the country today.

“It is striking that thousands of women are, selflessly, at the frontline caring for loved ones living with dementia around the clock and then with many living with the condition in later life. Shamefully, they get very little help from the state, which has only got worse due to cuts in social care.

“We also need a much greater focus and investment towards finding treatments and a cure. The cost of dementia is immense. The least we should be doing is making sure what we do spend is better spent and crucially in the places, like supporting carers, that matter”.

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