About one in 10 people in the UK aged 70 and over may have brain changes linked to Alzheimer’s disease, according to the largest population-based study of its kind.
The findings are not a diagnosis but suggest more than 1 million people could meet NHS criteria for anti-amyloid treatments, far more than current estimates. The study, published in Nature, analysed blood samples from nearly 11,500 people using a new biomarker test that can detect Alzheimer’s-related changes early.
Researchers found prevalence increased sharply with age, rising from under 8% in people in their 50s and 60s to around two-thirds of those over 90. Experts say the results could transform early detection, but warn that current treatments are costly and not yet widely available on the NHS.
