The cost of four killer diseases in England could rise to £86billion a year by 2050, a report has revealed.
Data showed the annual combined cost of dementia, coronary heart disease, cancer and stroke could cost a staggering £85.6billion - up 61 per cent from the combined cost of £51.9billion recorded in 2018.
For the study published in the Lancet Healthy Longevity journal, NHS records documenting how often almost 4.2 million people access healthcare were examined.
Population-level ageing up to 2050 was also observed.
The research concluded the cost of dementia could double with the over-65s population increasing.
In fact, the cost for all four conditions is expected to be considerable, as together they already account for a high proportion of deaths. In 2019, they caused some 59 per cent of all deaths.
The estimated costs are expected to rise by 40 per cent for cancer, 54 per cent for coronary heart disease, 100 per cent for dementia and 85 per cent for stroke.
Dr Ramon Luengo-Fernandez, who led the research, said: “If I was a minister in the Treasury or the Department of Health, what would concern me is how the social care system and the NHS is going to cope with this. If we're kind of not coping already or barely coping, how will we cope in 25 years time.”
He noted the importance of people implementing an active lifestyle, with exercise and healthy eating “having a cumulative effect”.
“What we’re not trying to say is that if the Government and population did everything including quitting smoking, eating very healthily and doing sport that all cancer, CHD, stroke and dementia would disappear,” Dr Luengo-Fernandez added.
“That's never going to happen because we all have to die of something eventually.
“However, what we want for government, policy makers or the health service to strive to do is push disease to old age. So rather than disease happening at ages 60 and 70, if everyone managed to push disease as much as possible to an older age, that would be better for everyone.”
A Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We recognise that the health of the nation and our economy are inextricably linked. That's why we're taking bold action to fix our NHS and tackle the causes of sickness.
“Prevention is better than cure, which is why government will shift the focus of healthcare from simply treating sickness to preventing it in the first place.
“Whether it be phasing out tobacco sales, implementing restrictions on advertising junk food, or doubling the number of scanners to get the NHS catching cancer on time again – we are committed to ensuring that people live well for longer and that we unleash the potential of our economy.”
