Health conditions experienced in addition to an existing one, in this case dementia, are called comorbidities. It is estimated that 91.8% of people living with dementia have at least one other condition.
The most common comorbidity to dementia is hypertension, followed by chronic pain conditions, and perhaps surprisingly, depression.
Untreated comorbidities of people living with dementia cost the UK health and care system £377m due to diabetes, £116m due to urinary infections and £502m due to depression, totalling £995m.
People aged 65+ who are living with dementia have an average of four comorbidities, while people aged 65+ without dementia have an average of two.
[Statistics from Alzheimer’s Research UK]
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