A new report from the Health Foundation (HF) stated that one-in-five people are expected to be diagnosed with a “major illness” by 2040.
The number would present a 37% increase compared to 2019.
Dementia is believed to increase by 45%, heart failure is to rise by 92%, and cancer by 31%.
Diabetes is also expected to rise by 49%, chronic pain by 32%, and mental health issues such as anxiety and depression by 16%.
Four-fifths of the rise in major illness is to be attributed to an aging population.
“Over the next two decades, the growth in major illness will place additional demand on all parts of the NHS, particularly primary care, where services are already under extreme pressure,” according to the Director of the Real Center at the HF Anita Charlesworth.
Health correspondent Ashish Joshi explained, “We are living longer and living longer with more sickness. We’ve known this for some time but this research from the Health Foundation puts it into pretty stark detail.”
Reporting from National Pulse:
Gains in health, including cholesterol reduction and reduced smoking, are expected to be offset by the prevalence of obesity – which has already broadly doubled in the last 30 years – over the coming decades, compounded further by the obesity rates among children.
