The latest investigative report on dementia in Taiwan showed that the prevalence of the disease among those aged 65 and older stands at 7.99 percent, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) said.
Department of Long-Term Care deputy Director-General Wu Hsi-wen (吳希文) said late last month that the ministry launched the investigation because the nation would officially meet the definition of a hyper-aged society — one out of every five people aged 65 or older — as of this year.
The ministry took samples based on household registration data and doctors’ house-call information on elderly people nationwide between 2020 and last year.
The ministry said the newest results were similar to the findings from a Taiwan Alzheimer’s Disease Association study conducted in 2011.
The study showed that the prevalence of Alzheimer’s in people aged 65 to 69, 70 to 74, 75 to 79 and 80 to 84 was 2.4 percent, 5.16 percent, 9.1 percent, 16 percent and 23.23 percent respectively, showing a positive correlation between age and the chance of developing Alzheimer’s.
The most recent study showed that Alzheimer’s in women at 9.36 percent, which is higher than men’s 6.35 percent.
The study showed that the top three most common forms of dementia were Alzheimer’s disease at 56.88 percent, vascular dementia, which is caused when decreased blood flow damages brain tissue, at 22.91 percent and Parkinson’s disease, at 7.12 percent.
Wu said that the government estimated that about 350,000 people are registered as having dementia, adding that the nation could see 470,000 people with dementia by 2031 and 680,000 by 2041.
The study also investigated behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, Wu said, adding that the most common was depression at 33.37 percent, fear or anxiety at 27.75 percent, repetitive behavior at 25.34 percent and delusion at 21.19 percent.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
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