More than one million people in Britain will suffer from dementia in the the next 20 years, according a new report.

The prediction by UK scientists is that people with Alzheimer’s diseases and other types of dementia will increase by 44% as the nation’s population gets older.

One in 60 people will be a sufferer by 2030 placing a strain on families and a financial burden on the NHS. Currently, there are 700,000 with some form of dementia and over half are suffering with Alzheimer’s.

The report published by Alzheimer’s Disease International concludes that worldwide the figure will be close to 66 million people suffering with dementia.

Lead researcher Professor Martin Prince of the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London said:

‘In all parts of the world, carers, who are most commonly female and the spouses or children of the persons with dementia, often experience high levels of strain,’ he said.

‘Studies reviewed in the new report suggest that half to three-quarters of carers have significant psychological illness, while up to a third have clinical depression.

‘While these numbers are staggering, the current investment in research, care and treatment for dementia is actually quite disproportionate to the overall impact of the disease on people with dementia, their carers, on health and social care systems, and on society.’

The worldwide increase will be most felt in East Asia, South Asia, North America and the Middle East. The ‘greying’ population of the world is occurring most quickly in China, India and Latin America. The British healthcare system is already struggling with an ageing population and without quick progress in dementia research, public awareness and care, the consequences worldwide could be catastrophic.