Why carry out this study?

Increasing life expectancy is leading to a rise in the elderly population worldwide, which is enhancing the prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases, such as dementia.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and one of the main aims of clinical management of this patient population is to maintain good quality of life by preserving patient independence and time at home.

The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical management of AD today by providing an up-to-date picture of real-world, self-reported physician behavior focusing on the diagnosis of AD across five countries (France, Germany, Japan, UK and the USA).

What were the study outcomes/conclusions?

This study showed that approximately half of patients (n = 3346) received a diagnosis within 6 months. There were large differences between countries; in France, 35% of patients were diagnosed within 6 months compared to 65% in Japan. Caregivers were the main driver toward diagnosis. Physician suspicion of AD was a trigger for diagnosis in only 20% of cases, globally (i.e. across all participating countries).

What we learned from this study

The study showed that the process of diagnosing AD remains suboptimal, even in more developed counties, with a significant number of patients remaining undiagnosed for several months after initially presenting to a physician.

Future initiatives to improve diagnosis timelines such as tailored physician educational activities, public awareness campaigns and execution of the updated national dementia strategies are urgently needed.