Governments and societies have been urged to reduce the stigma of having dementia.

A new report from Alzheimer's Disease International provides information on stigma and dementia, highlights best practices in the field of dementia, and makes recommendations which could help reduce stigma.

Findings include:

• 75% of people with dementia and 64% of family carers believe there are negative associations for those diagnosed with dementia in their countries
• 40% of people with dementia report they have been avoided or treated differently
• an estimated 66 million people will be living with dementia in 2030, and 115 million by 2050
• nearly two-thirds live in low and middle-income countries where older populations are sharply increasing
• the global cost of dementia in 2010 was an estimated $604 billion (US dollars).

'World Alzheimer Report 2012: Overcoming the stigma of dementia' can be downloaded from the Alzheimer's Disease International website.