Alzheimer's disease on the rise among under 60s

The number of people under 60 with Alzheimer's in China has been growing fast, and experts have called for strengthening early prevention efforts and enhancing the development of novel drugs.

Those aged 60 to 79 account for about 62 percent of people newly diagnosed with the memory-robbing disease, but the proportion of new cases in the under 60s take up 21 percent, much higher than the global average of around 5 to 10 percent, according to a report released by the Alzheimer's disease branch of the Chinese Aging Well Association on Wednesday.

The finding suggests that Alzheimer's is increasingly affecting younger people of working age in China, highlighting the need to step up prevention, as well as early screening and diagnosis of the disease across the whole of society.