PUBLISHED: March 25, 2014 .SPAIN has seen a dramatic increase in the number of deaths caused by Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases, as a result of its aging population.
According to research by the National Statistics Institute (INE), 13,015 people died from the disease in 2012, up from just 5,382 in 2000 – a 141.8% increase.
It is estimated that more than 600,000 people in Spain are suffering from the disease, according to the Spanish Society of Neurology, but other estimates put the figure as high as 800,000.
But the nature of the disease makes recording exact figures extremely difficult, as most of those affected – around 75% – die from infections.
Scientists at the San Pau Hospital in Madrid are conducting research into how to more accurately assess the extent of the affects of Alzheimer’s on Spain’s elderly population.
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