Status, determinants and risk factors of all-cause dementia in South Asia: Findings from a preliminary analysis of global health data

ABSTRACT South Asia is one of the most populous regions of the world. At present, South Asians make up more than 25% of the world’s population but little effort has been dedicated to studying trends and etiological factors driving aging and aging-related conditions in this part of the world. Even less characterization has been done on brain-related conditions, particularly all-cause dementia in South Asia. To address this, we examined data from the US Census Bureau, World Health Organization Global Dementia Observatory and the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 Study, and conducted a comparative analysis of population statistics, dementia as a priority health area, and dementia incidence rates, death rates and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in 8 South Asian countries…