According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China in 2023, the population aged > 60 in China is about 280 million, accounting for approximately 19.84% of the total population. Among them, the population aged > 65 is about 210 million, accounting for approximately 14.86% of the total population. China has rapidly entered a deep aging society. The aging population has also brought about a rapid increase in age-related disabilities and diseases, bringing a heavy burden to society and families. Among them, Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia in the elderly and one of the most common causes of loss of daily living abilities in the elderly. There are currently about 9.83 million AD patients in China, with a severe disease burden, which brings heavy medical, care, and economic burdens to families and society. It has become one of the most expensive, deadly, and burdensome diseases in current healthcare, seriously affecting public health and sustainable social development in China. However, the diagnostic and treatment rates of AD in China are still relatively low. Therefore, strengthening the prevention and treatment of AD, preventing and slowing down the occurrence and development of AD are urgent public health issues.
This report is aimed at the most concerned issues of people and government agency, such as: What is the current basic data on Alzheimer's disease in China? Why is the awareness rate relatively increased but the patient's desire to seek medical treatment relatively low? Are there any effective measures to address this?
This report summarizes the latest data available in various related fields, analyzes the current situation, problems, and trends of AD epidemiology, disease burden, diagnosis and treatment, risk factors, rehabilitation care, and disease screening in China, and proposes China's Alzheimer's disease prevention and control strategies, especially emphasized the importance of development of validated tools for screening and early diagnosis, the innovation of new drugs, and building and cultivating a nationwide network of localized social mutual assistance and support.
This report is to aid medical professionals, AD patients, family members and caregivers, government policy makers, elderly care institutions, etc. as they consider performances to provide better support for patients, to propose the formulation of relevant health policies, and to further raise public awareness of AD, to alleviate the overall burden of AD disease, and promote the realization of healthy aging in China.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a severe neurodegenerative disorder with complex etiology, currently lacking effective treatment options. China is among the countries with the largest and fastest-growing elderly population globally, also identified as a high-risk nation for AD. Consequently, early prevention of AD emerges as one of the most crucial endeavors in the fieldof healthcare today. Building upon domestic and international research, we have formulated a Chinese-specific AD early prevention guideline, integrating evidence-based literature, intervention studies, case analyses, experiential insights, and expert consultations, and showcasing the advantages of traditional Chinese medicine, martial arts, health preservation practices, and community organization. This guideline addresses distinctive features of preventive measures and encompasses strategies at the individual, family, and society levels, advocating for proactive lifestyles, social engagement, cognitive training, physical exercise, tobacco cessation and moderate alcohol consumption, nutritional balance, adequate sleep, management of blood pressure, glucose and lipid levels, weight, and other chronic conditions, along with incorporating traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) into primary prevention efforts against AD. This guideline serves as a reference for individuals, families and communities engaged in AD prevention initiatives.

Dementia/cognitive impairment in elderly persons is often caused by more than one common age-related brain diseases. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease that leads to or contributes to dementia/cognitive impairment. It is the only one of the 10 top deadliest diseases globally that has no curative nor long lasting effective symptom treatments. AD places tremendous burdens on individuals, their families, and the economies of essentially all societies. Early and timely detection and intervention has been increasingly considered to be the best strategy to combat AD. Over the last 3 decades, numerous studies have suggested approaches to reducing the risk of dementia, and up to 40% of dementia cases could be prevented or delayed by addressing risk factors, which are outlined in the 2020 Lancet report on dementia prevention. However, the current global healthcare system is not equipped sufficiently to detect AD early or in a timely fashion. For example, a recent study found that less than 10% of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is diagnosed in primary care setting. Recently, with the full approval of the anti-Amyloid beta (Aβ) antibody drug lecanemab and donanemab for early AD and the publications of ~20-year follow-up studies establishing that modification of risk factors could markedly reduce AD-dementia incidence and increase life span, there is rapidly growing interest in early AD recognition. The Chinese Association of Alzheimer’s Disease (CAAD) recognizes the importance of early and timely detection of AD in an at-home setting and has assembled a global panel of association professionals, clinicians and researchers who are expert in different areas of AD to reach the consensus reported here with the following goals: 1) to provide individuals, family, community, associations and organizations with expert guidance, 2) on the digital tools and available resources for the screen of cognitive impairment/dementia at home and describe a work flow for the next steps for those at risk or suspected of AD, 3) discuss current available or future resources for AD biomarker as at-home screen, and 4) to establish a framework for future improvement and worldwide application if results warrantee such a direction. The experts reviewed the current available evidence, tools, resources and considered the significance of screening for AD at home and the consensus recommendations are reported here.

The guidelines for prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease are set up, based on the evidences, especially from China. The basic principles of the guidelines for preventing Alzheimer’s Disease are early preventing, prevention without delay, keeping up preventing, and comprehensive prevention. The preventive strategies on the multi-risk-factors of Alzheimer’s Disease are paid special attention to in the guidelines. The research on guidelines is incomplete. However, it is reasonable to provide preliminary guidance to help individuals who wish to reduce their risk of Alzheimer’s Disease.

The human brain tissue bank is an institution dedicated to the development of neurology and neuroscience through collection, preservation, research and sharing of donated human brain tissues. In order to maintain environment and staff personal safety, it is necessary to establish standard operation procedure for prevention of potential contagious diseases. During autopsy or brain only autopsy, it is necessary to evaluate the biological safety grades beforehand, prepare for potential risks, adhere to the requirement of corresponding levels of biological safety, and establish biological safety system. Following standard biosafety procedure is vital for human brain and tissue banking. On the basis of consultation, literary and regulation searches, and our own experiences, this paper summarizes the biosafety standards and procedures for human brain and tissue banking as guidelines during practice.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) has become the only disease in the top 10 deadliest diseases that has no cure or effective therapies. Early detection and intervention of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), one cause of which is AD has been increasingly recognized as the best strategy to combat AD at present. Therefore reliable, accessible and affordable tools to detect MCI early are urgently in need. An international working group called the Global Advisory Group on Future MCI Care Pathways had extensively discussed and put forth consensus for rationale and means to detect MCI early both at home and in clinical settings which were published earlier in 2020. Here, a brief summary of the consensus and recommendations to adapt the consensus to China were presented.