World Alzheimer’s Month is an international campaign held every year during September, culminating in World Alzheimer's Day on 21 September. The global campaign theme for 2026 is "The Earlier You Know, The More You Can Do: A Dementia Diagnosis Matters," focusing on reducing stigma and highlighting the benefits of early diagnosis.
What is Alzheimer's disease?
Alzheimer’s disease is a physical illness which damages a person’s brain. This eventually causes dementia, affecting memory and thinking. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. It’s thought that two out of three people living with dementia in the UK have Alzheimer’s disease.
It starts many years before symptoms start to show. Eventually, Alzheimer’s causes so much damage to the brain that the person develops dementia – their thinking skills, memory and ability to carry out everyday tasks are reduced.
Age is the biggest risk factor for Alzheimer’s, as it is for most types of dementia. This means that a person is more likely to get Alzheimer’s as they get older. Above the age of 65, a person’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s doubles about every five years.
Symptoms of Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer’s disease affects everyone differently. For most people, it starts in and around the part of the brain involved in memory. However, in some rarer types of dementia the disease starts in a different part of the brain and so causes a different set of symptoms. This is called ‘atypical Alzheimer’s’.
The most common early symptoms include:
• memory problems
• thinking and reasoning difficulties
• language problems
• changes to how they see and hear things
• changes in mood
Early symptoms of Alzheimer’s are mild and don’t prevent someone from doing everyday activities by themselves. This is called mild cognitive impairment (MCI). It’s often not possible at this stage to say for sure that the person’s symptoms are being caused by Alzheimer’s disease, as there could be many other causes. The symptoms will get worse over time and as the disease progresses, a person will need increasing support with everyday living.
What causes Alzheimer's disease?
The causes of are very complex, but one key part is the build-up of two substances inside the brain called amyloid and tau. When conditions in the brain aren’t right, these clump up and form tiny structures called plaques and tangles. These make it harder for the brain to work properly.
Over time the disease causes certain parts to become smaller. It also reduces the amount of important chemicals needed to send messages around the brain.
Eventually the brain struggles to cope with the damage and the person begins to have problems with memory and thinking. When it gets to the stage where these problems are making it difficult for the person to do everyday tasks that they used to do easily, this is called ‘dementia’.
Getting a diagnosis
It is very important for anyone who has worsening problems with their memory or thinking to be assessed by a health professional, which is most often their GP. If a GP thinks their symptoms may be caused by dementia, they will refer the person to a local memory service for more detailed assessment.
Alzheimer’s will usually be diagnosed by a specialist health professional. Getting an early diagnosis has many benefits, giving you time to adjust and get things you need.
Risk factors for Alzheimer's disease
There are many different things that can increase a person’s chances of getting Alzheimer’s. Some of these risk factors cannot be changed, but many others can.
Age and genes are the biggest risk factors for Alzheimer’s, as they are for most types of dementia, and these cannot be changed. However, people can still reduce their risk by making positive changes to their health and lifestyle.
Getting advice and support for Alzheimer's disease
Dementia is the UK's biggest killer. Individuals alone can’t beat dementia - we all have a role to play. The impact of dementia is enormous – it affects us all, it devastates lives, overwhelms the health and social care system and the economy.
There are many ways to help someone to live as well as possible with Alzheimer's disease. For more help and support, you can contact a charity such as Alzheimer's Society, Alzheimer's Research UK or Dementia UK.
