Dementia costs Britain billions per year

Around 700,000 Britons suffer from dementia and the condition costs the nation's economy 17 billion pounds annually, the Alzheimer's Society said Tuesday.

In a study on the economic and social impact of dementia, the group said that one person in 88 currently suffers from it, costing an average of 25,472 pounds each.

Some 36 percent of the overall sum is linked to care given by friends and family -- around 690 million pounds is income lost by carers who have stopped working or cut their hours.

In addition, the government loses out on 123 million pounds worth of taxes which would have been paid out.

The rest of the figure is the cost of care given by social services and other agencies.

The number of people with dementia is set to increase to 1.7 million by 2050, according to the study, which calls for urgent government action to plan for this.

"We are arguing that, as a nation, we are singularly failing to address a very major health and social care issue that is already costing the country a very large amount of money," said Neil Hunt, the Alzheimer's Society's chief executive.

Dementia affects mainly elderly people -- some five percent of over 65s have the condition, as well as 20 percent of over 80s.

Its symptoms include memory loss and speech problems.