Like many health conditions, dementia disproportionally affects older people. That is not to say you can’t experience dementia when young, but you are far more likely to experience symptoms over the age of 65.
And as England continues to have an ageing population, it is therefore expected that the number of people living with dementia will only rise. Currently it is thought almost 700,000 people in the country are living with the condition.
But charities predict this will rise “sharply” in coming years. Now data has revealed that certain areas of England are home to far more people with dementia than others.
Figures from Alzheimer’s Research UK show that up to one in 35 people in parts of England are thought to have dementia. And among the over-80s, this is as high as one in six in some areas.
As reported by the Mail Online, this data has revealed that England’s dementia hotspots tend to be in seaside towns across Dorset, Hampshire, Norfolk, Essex and Sussex.
Taking the top spot for the town with the most cases of dementia is Christchurch in Dorset, where 2.81 percent of people are affected.
This is significantly above the average for England of 1.3 percent.
Situated along the south coast, Christchurch is a popular holiday destination. It boasts award-winning sandy beaches, a natural harbour and two castles.
The historic town has also been dubbed the UK’s retirement capital with many people relocating there as they get older.
This could account for its higher-than-average rates of dementia.
Not far away, the area of New Forest West ranked second for dementia rates with 2.65 percent of the population living with the condition.
North Norfolk (2.44 per cent) and Clacton (2.43 per cent) were also among the worst affected.
The prevalence of the disease was calculated by Alzheimer’s Research UK using population estimates data from the Office for National Statistics for 2020.
It then applied the risk of developing dementia among people aged over 65, which stands at 7.14 percent, to the number of people in all 650 constituencies within that age group.
Least affected were areas in London, with 0.38 percent of the population in Poplar and Limehouse living with dementia, and 0.48 percent in West Ham.
And just 0.5 percent of people in Manchester Central were affected.
There is almost a direct correlation between average age and dementia risk.
In Christchurch a third of residents are over 65, whereas just 6.2 percent of people in Poplar and Limehouse are.
While age is a contributing factor, around 40 percent of dementia cases are thought to be caused by lifestyle factors, such as smoking, alcohol consumption and being overweight and inactive.
Common symptoms of dementia include:
- Memory loss
- Difficulty concentrating
- Finding it hard to carry out familiar daily tasks, such as getting confused over the correct change when shopping
- Struggling to follow a conversation or find the right word
- Being confused about time and place
- Mood changes.
If you experience any unexplained dementia symptoms you should speak to your GP.
