Alzheimer's disease drug prescriptions have increased six times in the last decade, paralleling a rise in the number of people diagnosed with dementia, according to a new analysis.

The report — Focus on Dementia, published by the British Health and Social Care Information Centre — says the proportion of people who’ve been diagnosed with dementia has increased over the last year by 112 per 100,000, Medical Xpress reports.

It also found nearly four in 10 caregivers who looked after someone with dementia spent 100 or more hours each week doing so over the last two years.

"This report doesn't investigate the reasons behind the increase in prescriptions, but it's likely that a drive to improve diagnosis rates and a rapidly aging population have contributed to the rise,” said Hilary Evans, chief executive of Alzheimer's Research UK.

“This report shows that progress is being made in diagnosing people with dementia but also highlights the urgent need for more research into prevention and better treatments…. While existing dementia treatments can help with some of the symptoms, we still lack treatments capable of stopping the damage caused by diseases such as Alzheimer's.