A reply to ‘Perceptions of a UK Bangladeshi community on accessing dementia health and care services within the context of the English National Dementia Strategy’ by Hussain et al

People are generally living longer, and every country in the world can expect a
growth in the size and proportion of older people in their populations. With this
growth in the ageing population, it is forecasted that a significant increase in age-related health concerns, such as vascular dementia, will occur. Vascular dementia primarily affects older people, and its onset is associated with increased disability and dependency on others, a poor quality of life, social isolation, and increased caregiver burden (Gaviola et al, 2024). Dementia is also an important sociopolitical and economic concern. It is costly to treat (totalling £24.2 billion in the UK [Wittenberg et al, 2019]), and it is set to become one of the biggest health challenges of the 21st century. As Hussain et al (2025) and others show, people from the UK’s South Asian and Bangladeshi (SAB) communities are underserved by and under-represented in dementia services. As a result, they often present late or when in crisis (Ahmed et al, 2024; Hussain et al, 2024). Delays in securing health-related help in any form, whether formally from professionals or informally from friends, family and the community, are known to worsen the condition and position of those who are most often in need (Dawkins et al, 2021).