每3秒钟，世界上有人就会发展痴呆症。但是，在这种巨大的潮流中，大多数人没有得到诊断，更不用说治疗和护理了。2017年，预计将有1000万例新痴呆症病例。大多数痴呆症患者生活在低收入和中等收入国家。在这些国家，只有10％的患有痴呆症的人将得到诊断。

需要做更多的事情来应对围绕这种疾病的污名。被诊断出的人通常还会获得较低的护理标准，并可能被排除在日常生活之外。没有诊断，患有痴呆症及其护理伙伴的人将无法获得所需的治疗和支持。

ThisWorld Alzheimer’s Month, we are calling on all people to recognize the warning signs of dementia so that they may seek advice and support as early as possible. A diagnosis of dementia made earlier in the course of the disease is fundamental to ensure that those affected can live as well as possible. Earlier diagnosis is important because:

1. It enables people with dementia and their care partners to be better equipped to cope with progression of the disease, including the ability to make decisions about their independence, home and legal affairs while they still have the capacity to do so.
2. It gives people with dementia a better chance to benefit from available drug and non-drug therapies that may improve their cognition and enhance their quality of life.
3. When diagnosed early enough, it allows those affected to make a significant difference to research, by taking part in new clinical trials.

There is no simple test to make a diagnosis of dementia. A reasonably accurate diagnosis can be made by taking a careful history of the person’s problem from the individual alongside a close relative or friend, together with an examination of the individual’s physical and mental state.

对痴呆症诊断的更多研究至关重要，但历史上一直集中在已经表现出痴呆症症状的患者上。这些人进行的临床试验令人失望。最近的诊断工作have begun to recognize the importance of a long pre-dementia stage in the disease, and favor the development of therapies and other interventions early in the disease progression. This suggests that as our understanding of the disease grows, early diagnosis will become ever more important. This must be accompanied by increasing healthcare capacity, and better care delivery.

The global plan on dementiaadopted by the World Health Organization (WHO) in May 2017 urges that every government develop awareness of and access to diagnosis for dementia. The plan includes a target for 145 governments to have a national plan by 2025, but so far, less than 30 of the 194 WHO member states have developed a plan on dementia. Alzheimer associations in over 90 countries are engaged in advocacy to encourage the development of these plans, and also provide support and advice for seeking a diagnosis, and life after a diagnosis is made.

痴呆不是衰老的正常部分。您可以分享我们上面的“痴呆症的10个警告信号”活动图形。如果您自己或您认识的任何人都担心这些症状，请与医生交谈或与您所在国家的阿尔茨海默氏症协会联系。

全世界人们都在通过数千种活动来帮助传播这些信息。使用#WorldalzMonth和访问加入世界阿尔茨海默氏症的月份活动https://www.worldalzmonth.org/to get involved.

ADI是BMC的骄傲合作伙伴。