adult screening programme

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Dementia

The term “dementia” is used to describe a range of brain diseases. These cause ongoing decline in thinking skills and the ability to carry out everyday activities such as washing and dressing. Dementia becomes more common as people age and it usually affects people over the age of 65

Read more about dementia on the NHS website.

UK NSC screening recommendation Based on the last UK NSC review of this condition that occurred in November 2025.

Screening is not currently recommended for this condition.

Screening for dementia is not recommended because:

  • there are no screening tests which could find people with dementia before they show symptoms
  • there is no evidence that current treatments for dementia are effective
  • there is concern about how people diagnosed by screening may be affected by dementia related screening

Supporting documents from the 2026 review

Evidence map
This document investigates whether a more detailed review can be conducted based on the available evidence.

Coversheet
This document summarises the review process including the public consultation comments.

Supporting documents from the 2019 review

In 2019, the UK NSC did not recommend screening for this condition.

Evidence summary Dementia (2019)
This document provides the evidence on which the current UK NSC recommendation is based.

UK NSC coversheet & consultation responses Dementia (2019)
This document summarises the review process including the public consultation comments.

Review cycle

Date previous review completed: 2026

Next review estimated to be completed: 2029 to 2030.

To see previous evidence reviews, visit the UK NSC archive.

Organisations interested in Dementia

These organisations have expressed interest in this recommendation and may submit responses to evidence reviews.

List of organisations

If you think your organisation should be added, please contact us.