Acting now on dementia prevention, intervention, and care will vastly improve living and dying for individuals with dementia and their families, and in doing so, will transform the future for society. Dementia is by no means an inevitable consequence of reaching retirement age, or even of entering the ninth decade. Lifestyle factors might reduce, or increase, an individual's risk of developing dementia. In some populations dementia is already being delayed for years, while in others the number of people living with it has increased.
Many of dementia's manifestations are now known to be manageable, and while the underlying illness is generally not curable, it might be modifiable with good dementia care. People with dementia are usually older than 65 years, often have comorbidities, and might need help in coping with these illnesses. A third of older people now die with dementia and all…
