Around one in 10 people in the UK aged 70 and over may have brain changes linked to Alzheimer’s disease, according to a large population-based study published in Nature. The findings are based on blood tests from nearly 11,500 randomly selected participants.
While the changes are not a diagnosis, they suggest more than 1 million people could meet NHS criteria for anti-amyloid treatments, far above previous estimates. Researchers say the results offer the clearest picture yet of how common early Alzheimer’s-related changes are and could transform early detection.
The study found prevalence rises sharply with age, reaching about two-thirds of people over 90. Experts welcomed the findings but warned that current treatments are costly and not widely available on the NHS.
