The 66-year-old Partridge Family star announced he has the disease after video was released appearing to show him slurring his words, forgetting lyrics and almost falling off the stage at a recent concert in the US.
Cassidy lost both his grandfathers to dementia as well as his mother at the age of 89.
He now says he will stop touring to focus on his health and “enjoy life”.
So at what age is dementia considered early onset – and how common is it?
Alzheimer’s Australia says dementia can be diagnosed in people in their 50s, 40s and even 30s and it usually considers any form of dementia in people under the age of 65 as early onset. Its latest figures show that there are 25,100 Australians living with the condition.
25,000 Australians with early onset dementia
That’s still a very small percentage – about 0.1 per cent of the population.
Mark Butler notes in his book ‘Advanced Australia’ that dementia rates for people aged 65 to 74 is just three per cent.
This rises to 10 per cent for people aged 75 to 84 years and 30 per cent for people over 85 – so less than a third of us will be diagnosed.
Alzheimer’s Australia offers support, information and referral services and counselling for people of any age with dementia and their carers and families.
You can call their National Dementia Helpline on 1800 100 500 and find more information about younger onset dementia here.
