Five questions, no scans: a dementia risk score built for the countries where most dementia now lives

About 60% of the world's 57 million people living with dementia are in low- and middle-income countries — yet almost every tool for predicting who is at risk was built on data from wealthy ones, and they travel badly. A Northumbria University-led team has built one for the places that need it most, and validated it on more than 11,000 older adults across seven sites: China, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Mexico and Peru. The score needs no blood test, no scan, no equipment — just a conversation about five things: age, social engagement, physical activity, blood pressure, and difficulty managing money, an early everyday sign of cognitive change. Scores run from 0 to 9, corresponding to roughly a 1% to a 19% chance of dementia within three years, with accuracy above the threshold considered clinically useful. Published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, the tool is aimed first at research — helping trials in poorer countries find the people most likely to benefit.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: tech innovation