Dementia affects people of all cultures, intellectual abilities and lifestyles. It is not a normal part of ageing, although the likelihood of getting dementia increases as a person ages. This doesn’t however, mean that younger people – people aged less than 65 – don’t also get dementia. Some people may be predisposed to dementia by pre-existing intellectual disability, head injury or family history. Dementia is very common and as our population ages it is likely that everyone will have contact with someone with dementia. So the answer to “who gets dementia?” is really, “Anyone, though it is much more likely in older people”.