Expressen opinion piece refers to KI report on dementia prevalence and costs
An opinion piece published in the Swedish daily Expressen highlights dementia as a growing societal challenge and refers to a recent report from Karolinska Institutet on the number of people living with dementia and the associated costs in Sweden. The report provides updated estimates of prevalence, future trends and the economic impact of the disease.
The Expressen article, written by Gunnar Wetterberg, draws on findings from the KI report “The number of people with dementia and the costs of dementia in Sweden 2023”, which was submitted to the Swedish Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. The report presents a comprehensive overview of how dementia affects individuals, healthcare services and society at large.
According to the report, an estimated 130,000–150,000 people were living with dementia in Sweden in 2023, with projections indicating a substantial increase in the coming decades. It also shows that dementia is associated with considerable societal costs, largely linked to health and social care, particularly long-term care services provided by municipalities.
The report was authored, among others, by researchers Anders Wimo, Giulia Grande and Linus Jönsson, together with Amaia Calderón-Larrañaga, Principal Investigator at the KI Transdisciplinary Research Center for Personlaized Dementia Prevention & Care (TraCeDem). Their analysis forms the basis for the discussion in the opinion piece, where Gunnar Wetterberg argues that the development is not inevitable and calls for stronger political prioritisation of prevention, treatment and preparedness.