◆ rapidly expanding dementia industry ◆
In Korea, one of the fastest aging countries in the world, dementia-related industries such as dementia diagnosis, prevention, care and nursing are booming.
As Korea’s population ages rapidly, a dementia patient occurs every 12 minutes, and on average, 1 in 4 seniors aged 80 and older have dementia, according to the Central Dementia Center on the 11th. By 2050, the number of people with dementia alone is projected to exceed 2.7 million.
First, the market for dementia diagnosis, which can diagnose dementia early and slow its progression in the absence of a cure, is growing rapidly. We are preparing to release an early detection kit that can diagnose dementia with a drop of blood, and genetic testing to see if we have genes closely related to dementia has also started to be used for diagnosis. The market for dementia diagnosis is estimated at 3 trillion won.
The dementia prevention industry, such as the annual sleep industry worth 2 trillion won, is also activated. The wellness industry, such as meditation, as well as the robot industry and technology using virtual reality (VR), appear to be expanding into the dementia prevention industry. According to the Central Dementia Center report, domestic dementia management costs are expected to increase from about 13.2 trillion won in 2015 to 18.8 trillion won in 2020, 34.3 trillion won in 2030, 63.9 trillion won in 2040 and 106.5 trillion won in 2050. Due to the nature of dementia, which requires family members to care for them around the clock, the size of the dementia care industry is estimated to exceed 200 trillion won, including social opportunity costs.
[기획취재팀 = 신찬옥 기자(팀장) / 김혜순 기자 / 원호섭 기자 / 김윤진 기자]
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