Dementia is a group of symptoms which affect memory, thinking and behaviour. It mainly affects people aged over 65, and the risk of developing dementia increases with age. The number of people in the UK living with dementia is expected to increase by 40% between 2014 and 2025 to over 1.1 million.
People who are diagnosed with young onset dementia (age at diagnosis under 65) have different health and social care needs to people of the same age who were diagnosed later in life. The number of people currently aged under 65 diagnosed with young onset dementia is known, but the number of people currently aged over 65 diagnosed with young onset dementia is not known.
This study will provide an estimate of how many people currently with dementia were diagnosed with young onset dementia. The results of this study will support recommendations to improve quality of care for people with young onset dementia by providing local commissioners with prevalence data for planning age specific services for this population group.
The purpose of this study is to determine the number and proportion of patients diagnosed with young onset dementia from this sample primary care database. The health and social care needs of people with young onset dementia are different to those diagnosed at an older age. However, as the age at diagnosis varies for each person, not all people with dementia of a similar age will have similar needs.
The number of people with dementia is published by current age group in England. However, neither age at diagnosis nor the length of time people have lived with their condition is routinely published. Commissioners and service providers need to provide interventions based on the personal needs of the individual rather than through generic age specific services.
This study will inform recommendations to national organisations that lead and develop strategy, policy and guidance on dementia care and local organisations that plan, manage and deliver different stages of clinical and preventive care. The findings will improve the quality of care of patients diagnosed with dementia by providing local estimates of the point prevalence of patients diagnosed with young onset dementia regardless of their current age.
ey variables:
The sex of each patient;
The current age of each patient, measured as the difference between the current year and the patient’s year of birth;
The age at diagnosis of each patient, measured as the difference between the earliest recorded consultation date with a dementia READ/EMIS/SNOMED code and the patient’s year of birth;
The number and proportion of patients in the sample primary care database who have been diagnosed with young onset dementia;
The number of patients in NHS Digital's Recorded Dementia Diagnoses dataset who have been diagnosed with young onset dementia.
Zachary Gleisner - Chief Investigator - Public Health England
Michael Jackson - Corresponding Applicant - Public Health England
Janet Carter - Collaborator - University College London ( UCL )