Health IQ: Why young-onset dementia is on the rise

Dementia cases on the rise in younger people

A landmark study from the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada this past week said a growing number of Canadians are developing dementia in their 60s, 50s, 40s — and even earlier.

But experts are not sure exactly what is behind the startling rise.

Currently, more than 600,000 people in Canada are living with dementia. By 2050, the study estimates that there could be a surge of 187 per cent among people under the age of 65 with the disease in the country.

The predicted rise is even higher for Indigenous communities.

However, there were also some positive developments this week on the devastating disease, with new search showing a simple blood test to detect Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia, before symptoms show is one step closer to becoming a reality.

And a drug previously approved for schizophrenia and depression has been approved by Health Canada to treat agitation in Alzheimer’s patients,

Read more on the approval of the drug for Alzheimer’s patients.

How to advocate for yourself in a strained health-care system

Are you worried about your quality of health care amid ongoing reports of emergency room overcrowding, long surgery wait times and physician shortages?

You’re not alone.

A survey published by Leger this week shows 70 per cent of respondents are worried they won’t be able to get good-quality medical care if they or a family member need it.

Health-care professionals have been warning for years about the strains on the health-care system.

The pressures in ERs are especially felt this time of year, as doctors struggle to keep up with rising cases of respiratory illnesses.

Dr. Trevor Jain, an ER doctor with the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP), recently called the situation across the country “horrific and inhumane.”

— THE TOPIC —

Measles cases surge in Europe

— WHAT EXPERTS ARE SAYING —

There has been an “alarming rise” in measles cases in Europe that is only accelerating, the World Health Organization warned this week.

There were 42,200 measles cases across 41 WHO European Region member states in 2023 — up from 941 cases reported in all of 2022, according to the WHO.

Canada has not seen such a dramatic increase in measles cases, reporting 12 in 2023 and three in 2022, according to federal data.

But the disease, which is highly contagious, should be on Canadians’ radars, experts caution — especially if travelling.

Dr. Don Sheppard, the vice-president of Infectious Diseases and Vaccination Programs at the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), told us that 11 of last year’s 12 cases were in travellers who contracted measles abroad, and the 12th case was from a secondary transmission within a household.

He said 2024 already has its first importation case of measles from someone who got it outside the country.

The WHO said urgent vaccination efforts are needed to halt transmission and prevent further spread.