Facts for the media about dementia

Please note, this page is for journalists only. If you are looking for general information about dementia, support, Alzheimer’s Society or fundraising, please see our contact page.

The Alzheimer's Society press office offers a service to journalists who are looking for information and interviews about dementia, support services, research and fundraising initiatives. 

For a full list of spokespeople please see our spokespeople page. 

For journalists and media enquiries only, please contact our press office.

How to talk about dementia in the media

Alzheimer’s Society’s media guide is designed to help professionals working in media to understand how best to work with the Society and people living with dementia, as well as how to write, talk about and portray dementia in their work.

What is dementia?

Dementia is the UK's biggest killer.

Dementia is a group of symptoms that show your brain isn’t working as it should. These symptoms include:

• memory loss

• feeling confused or finding everyday activities difficult

• struggling to make sense of what you see

• problems using words or communicating

• changes in mood and behaviour. 

At first symptoms are mild. But over time they get worse. When they start to interfere with daily life, this is known as dementia. 

Dementia is caused by diseases that damage your brain. It is not a normal part of getting older.

If you’re worried about yourself or a loved one, Alzheimer’s Society’s symptoms checklist is a helpful first step in starting a conversation with your GP.

Types of dementia

Many different diseases can lead to a person having dementia. Most people have one of four main types:

• Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia. It is caused when proteins that are not formed properly build up inside the brain. These proteins join together into structures called ‘plaques’ and ‘tangles’. They stop brain cells from working properly and sending messages to each other.
• Vascular dementia is the result of the brain not receiving enough blood to work properly.
• Lewy body dementia is caused by tiny clumps of proteins – known as Lewy bodies – that build up inside cells in the brain. This stops them from working properly.
• Frontotemporal dementia is caused by faulty proteins building up in the front and sides of the brain. These areas are strongly involved in thinking, behaviour, personality and language.

A person can have mixed dementia when they have symptoms of more than one type. 

About dementia diagnosis

There is no single test used to diagnosis dementia. A diagnosis is usually based on several tests and assessments, including mental ability tests. Some people may have a scan to check for changes in the brain.

For some people, getting a dementia diagnosis can be quite simple and take just a few weeks. For others it can take much longer. On average, people with dementia live with the symptoms of dementia for 3.5 years before receiving a diagnosis.

An early and accurate dementia diagnosis is vital. It gives people access to the care, treatment and support they desperately need. Yet one in three people with dementia in England and Northern Ireland and an estimated one in two in Wales, do not have a diagnosis. 

Getting a diagnosis can be daunting, but we believe it’s better to know. A survey found that over 90% of people affected by dementia see a benefit to getting a dementia diagnosis. The survey also  found that 6 in 10 people affected by dementia said being able to receive the right care was a benefit of diagnosis.

How many people in the UK have dementia?

One in three people born today will develop dementia in their lifetime. Research commissioned by Alzheimer’s Society, shows that around a million people in the UK have a form of dementia. This is projected to rise to 1.4 million people by 2040.

There are over 70,800 people living with young onset dementia – where symptoms develop before the age of 65. 

It is estimated that 70 per cent of people in care homes in England have dementia or severe memory problems.

More than 25,000 people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups in the UK are affected by dementia.

How many people in the world have dementia?

There are 55 million people living with dementia around the globe. It is estimated that this number will rise to 139 million by 2050.

How much does dementia cost in the UK?

A report commissioned by Alzheimer’s Society in 2024 revealed dementia costs the UK £42 billion per year. This is set to rise sharply to £90 billion by 2040. 

The costs of dementia rise significantly as the condition progresses. The annual, per person cost for mild dementia is £28,700 compared to £80,500 for severe dementia, driven by increasing need for more complex social and unpaid care. 

The financial impact of dementia is staggering with 63% of the total costs of dementia borne by people living with dementia and their families.

The cost of social care for people with dementia is set to rise from £17 billion to £41 billion in 2040.  

Unpaid carers supporting someone with dementia save the UK economy £21 billion a year. This will rise to £40 billion in 2040. 

Dementia is one of the main causes of disability later in life, ahead of cancer, cardiovascular disease and stroke. 

We don't use "burden" in the context of people living with dementia. It's dehumanising. We should "impact" or something along those lines.

Is there a cure for dementia?

There is no cure for dementia.

Existing drugs available on the NHS only treat the symptoms of dementia. They do not treat the root cause of the diseases that cause dementia, and so do not slow down how quickly it gets worse. 

But research will beat dementia and we are at a tipping point.

Simple blood tests to detect Alzheimer's and new drugs which could slow down early-stage Alzheimer's disease are just around the corner. 

There are currently 138 drugs in 182 clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease. 

Lecanemab and donanemab are the first drugs for Alzheimer's disease which have been shown to slow down the changes in thinking and memory people experience in the early stages of the disease. In 2024, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approved lecanemab and donanemab for some people with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease in the UK based on patient benefit and safety. However, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) made a final recommendation that neither lecanemab nor donanemab will not be provided through the NHS after an extended review and stakeholder consultation.

Research Alzheimer's Society funded 30 years ago led to the treatment breakthroughs we're seeing today, and research we fund now will be pivotal in unlocking more breakthroughs. 

However, despite dementia's impact and prevalence, research into the condition is desperately underfunded and there are not enough dementia researchers or people taking part in research. 

What does Alzheimer’s Society do to support dementia research?

Alzheimer’s Society is the only dementia charity in the UK that funds all types of dementia research, from biomedical through to clinical and care research.

We can’t tackle the challenge of dementia alone – it will take a society to beat dementia. That’s why we’re working with experts and people with lived experience, connecting with partner organisations and funding the brightest minds in dementia research.

Alzheimer’s Society has invested over £124m into dementia research in areas such as treatment, diagnosis, innovation and care, providing hope for the future while transforming lives today. 

Alzheimer’s Society has invested £3m in a collaboration with the UK Dementia Trials Network (UKDTN) to launch the first UK-wide Dementia Research Nurses network to give more people with different types of dementia, from all backgrounds, the opportunity to take part in research.

As a founding funder of the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI), Alzheimer's Society remains a proud funding partner of the Institute.

Alzheimer's Society's research led by Sir John Hardy over 30 years ago discovered the importance of amyloid protein in Alzheimer's disease. It laid the foundations for billions of pounds of investment into many of the drugs like lecanemab and donanemab, with 138 other drugs currently in Alzheimer’s disease trials.

In 2022 Alzheimer’s Society, Innovate UK and Challenge Works launched The Longitude Prize on Dementia, a £4m prize fund to find innovators who can create ground-breaking technologies to help people with early-stage dementia. 

Alzheimer's Society is leading the way by delivering support to those who need it, but it will take a society to beat dementia. Whether you're a carer, researcher, volunteer, fundraiser or politician, we need you to get involved to help us create a world where dementia no longer devastates lives.

Blood Biomarker Challenge 

The Blood Biomarker Challenge is a multi-million-pound research programme supported by Alzheimer’s Society, Alzheimer’s Research UK, the National Institute for Health and Care Research, Gates Ventures, and players of the People’s Postcode Lottery. Its goal is to bring blood tests for dementia diagnosis into the NHS by 2030.
 
The Blood Biomarker Challenge takes the blood tests that have shown the most promise in research settings and evaluates whether they work for people referred to NHS memory clinics with signs and symptoms of dementia. 
The Challenge will generate robust evidence to help the NHS adopt these tests as part of standard diagnostic care, increasing the proportion of patients who know which type of dementia they have.

The initiative includes two major clinical studies:

• The READ-OUT (REAl world Dementia OUTcomes) team, led by Professor Vanessa Raymont, Professor James Rowe, and Dr Ivan Koychev, operates with Dementias Platform UK (DPUK) at the University of Oxford. The team investigates multiple existing and novel blood tests (including amyloid beta 42/40 and p-tau217), covering a range of dementia types such as Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, and dementia with Lewy bodies.

• The ADAPT (Alzheimer's Disease Diagnosis and Plasma pTau217) team, led by Professor Jonathan Schott and Dr Ashvini Keshavan at University College London, focuses on the most promising biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease, called p-tau217. The ADAPT team have already demonstrated that this test is accurate, robust, and performs well in specialist NHS centres. They are now rolling out a trial in memory services across the UK to evaluate its impact in routine NHS settings.

Both teams examine whether the blood tests can help detect the diseases causing dementia.

How does Alzheimer's Society support people living with dementia?

Alzheimer’s Society helps people make the most of life with dementia, supporting them through some of the hardest and most frightening times. We provide hope for the future by campaigning to make dementia a priority and funding groundbreaking dementia research. 

We’re also calling on the UK Government to develop a long-term social care workforce strategy which delivers fair pay for care staff, reduces staff turnover, and provides high-quality dementia care with mandatory dementia training for the adult social care workforce.

A 2025 survey found that 1 in 5 people with dementia have not received any health and care support, and a quarter are dissatisfied with the support available for people living with dementia. 

Getting social care right for people with dementia and those who care for them is vital. People living with dementia make up around 70% of residents of older age residential care in England, yet only around a third of care workers in England have received any dementia specific training.

Our Dementia Support Services include our expert Dementia Advisers, dedicated Dementia Support Line (0333 150 3456) and online Dementia Support Forum. 

Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Support Line (0333 150 3456) provides a translation for callers who do not have English as their language of choice. We also provide a number of dementia publications and films in other languages. 

If you speak Welsh, you can call Alzheimer’s Society Cymru’s Welsh-speaking Dementia Support Line on 03300 947 400.

How can you contact Alzheimer's Society?

Information on contacting Alzheimer's Society is available on our Contact us page.