Step Up Dementia Research, Says UKIP Mep Louise Bours

News that dementia sufferers are getting younger proves UKIP was right to call for more investment and research into treatment of the disorder, says the party’s health spokesman Louise Bours.

The Times reports today (Thursday, August 6) that dementia is being diagnosed a decade earlier than it was 20 years ago.

The newspaper quotes an academic who warns that the creeping onset of the disease could mean the world faces “a silent epidemic”.

Data from 21 countries involved in a study by Bournemouth University shows the chronic disorder is now being identified in people in their late 40s.

In Ukip’s 2015 general election manifesto, the party pledged to spend an extra £130 million a year researching and treating dementia – the only party to do so.

Ms Bours, MEP for the North West and a member of the Europe for Freedom and Democracy Group (EFDD) in the European Parliament, said: “These concerns are precisely what we were recognising in our election manifesto.

“That people are now being regularly diagnosed with the dementia at the relatively young age of their 40s has to be of great concern not just here in the UK but across the world.

“Dementia is the leading cause of death among women over the age of 55 and the fifth biggest killer of men.

“It is also disgraceful that such a huge issue affecting so many people is still to this day left largely to unpaid and untrained carers to attend to.

“As a nation we are living longer than ever and one of the unfortunate results of that is an ageing population that needs to be cared for.

“Dementia needs to be tackled, and the wonderful people caring for family members and friends suffering from it should be given proper support.

“Dementia doesn’t just affect the sufferer – it affects everyone around them, too. It’s high time that was properly recognised.”