Medical experts say senile dementia has become the fourth most common killer illness after cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and cancer among China's elderly, endangering their health and quality of life.

China had about 5 million old people - aged over 60 years - suffering from senile dementia, and the figure was increasing by 300,000 annually, according to Sheng Shuli, a medical specialist with the China Senile Dementia Scientists Association in Beijing.

Elderly people diagnosed with the illness usually lived for no more than five to six years, Sheng said.

A survey by the Beijing Gerontology Research Center of more than 6,000 old people in Beijing over the past three years has revealed a 5.1 percent incidence of senile dementia among people over 60 years, a 15.9 percent incidence among those aged above 80 years and one out of three people over 90 suffering from the disease.

According to the survey, the risk of contracting senile dementia more than doubles every five years, and old people in rural areas are more likely to develop the illness than their urban counterparts. The survey shows the incidence of the disease among illiterate old people is 2.7 times that among literate peers.

Only 14 percent of light, 25 percent of moderate and 34 percent of serious senile dementia sufferers have consulted doctors, according to the survey, which demon-strates a general lack of proper understanding of the disease.

Moreover, relatives of nearly a half of the people suffering from senile dementia wrongly believed it was not a disease, but a result of aging.

Sheng said that as well as aging, high blood pressure and cerebrovascular diseases can more than double the risk of developing senile dementia.

He suggested people maintain a healthy lifestyle.

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