Dementia Among the Elderly
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Dementia Among the Elderly
Disease prevention and management among the elderly population is an important contribution to health promotion strategies, given the old individuals constitute a significant part of the society. Dementia is a common and incapacitating condition, mostly occurring in late adulthood, with a massive impact on individual persons and societies in general. The illness incorporates various homeopathic and neuropsychiatric conditions depicted by mental inadequacies that inhibit the day-to-day living conditions. Identifying the actual cause, nature, and the prevention of the disease or its advancement would result in social and public health benefits. Dementia, which mostly affects the elderly population, is better managed in its preventive stages since the costs of treating it increase with its worsening from a mild state to moderate, and then conditions.
Problem
Clinical Definition
The term dementia is generally used to illustrate the cognitive weakening in the functioning of the brain. According to the World Health Organization, dementia is a syndrome associated with deterioration in memory, behavior, thinking, and adversely affects one’s ability to perform everyday activities (WHO, 2019). The various forms of dementia include frontotemporal dementia, vascular dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and dementia with Lewy bodies (Read et al., 2020). This disease varies from mild, moderate, and severe states among patients.
Signs and Symptoms
The signs and symptoms related to dementia are exhibited in three phases. In the mild stage, a patient shows symptoms like getting lost in familiar environments, being forgetful, and not keeping track of events. Symptoms in the moderate stage are clearer. They include impaired communication, relying on others for personal care, changed behavior, forgetting people’s names, and recent events rather quickly (Read et al., 2020). In the severe stage, patients get to be dependent, inactive, and hostile.
Contributing Factors
Dementia occurs as a result of irregular changes in the brain caused by both natural and environmental factors. Common contributing factors include illnesses, reactions to medicines, contagions, imbalances in nutrition, renal failure, and diabetes (Clare et al., 2017). Additionally, behavioral aspects like smoking, excessive alcohol use, and physical inactivity increase a person’s vulnerability to the condition.
Impact
Prevalence
Dementia is among the leading causes of dependency and incapacity among aged individuals globally. Nearly fifty million persons are suffering from dementia, and about ten million new cases are reported annually around the world (Solomon et al., 2015). The average proportion of the entire population aged above sixty years with dementia at any given time ranges from five to eight percent (Read et al., 2020). The condition is associated with old age as it affects elderly people more than any other age group.
Rehabilitation Costs
The costs of rehabilitating a dementia patient vary with the degree of severity of the condition. Patients with moderate symptoms are 40% more expensive to treat than it is for those with mild conditions of dementia disease (Clare et al., 2017). These amounts double from moderate to a severe state.
Costs to Communities
Dementia can have serious implications for families of affected individuals. The entire community also suffers the consequences of dementia, either directly or indirectly. For instance, monetary, physical, and emotional pressures can result in heightened stress levels to the loved ones (Ku et al., 2015). Patients’ total dependence on their families may force them to abandon their careers. Such a decline adversely affects their productivity and the entire institutional profitability, whether they are employed by an organization or are self-employees. Lastly, severe disease cases may lead to the death of loved ones, leaving the whole family and the community at large in agony and distress.
Subpopulations
Who is at a Greater Risk for Dementia?
Dementia is more common among elderly people. An assessment of previous epidemiological studies shows higher incidences of dementia among people above sixty-five years, between 1.7 % and 4.3% (Solomon et al., 2015). Further, older persons with a history of depression are more likely to experience it than anyone else. Unlike younger individuals, aged people tend to have lower immunity, thus putting them at this higher risk. The most probable reason attributed to a higher risk level among the aged is the declined functionality of the body cells and the consequent reduction in their capacity to withstand mental challenges such as depression and stress.
Modifiable Behavioural Factors
Smoking and Harmful Alcohol Usage
Smoking significantly intensifies the risk of dementia. Smokers have a higher chance of contracting vascular infections, which may increase the risk of dementia. Smoking can be best terminated with the help of a physician-guided process.
Excessive drinking of alcohol heightens the danger of dementia. On the other hand, alcohol consumption could be moderated, which will help lower the disease (Clare et al., 2017). Moderate drinking, as opposed to excessive or total withdrawal of alcohol, is recommended for this condition. Additionally, institutions’ role in rehabilitation is paramount in aiding older adults to reduce alcohol and drug abuse’s harmful behavior.
Literature Review
Promoting a Healthy State of Mind
A healthy state of mind contributes greatly in avoiding numerous health complications. A study by (Ku et al., 2016) sought to establish the correlation between mental health and dementia. The study employed a consecutive sampling method among elderly persons in Taiwan. The findings established that individuals who engage in activities that stimulate the mind are less likely to undergo depression. Consequently, their risk of suffering from dementia is extremely low. On the other hand, the study reported that most individuals with dementia had a history of dormant living and mental fatigue (Ku et al., 2016). The study recommended metal activeness as an effective way of avoiding dementia.
Adhering to Healthy Lifestyle
Adopting a healthy lifestyle has also been proven to prevent cases of dementia. A study by (Clare et al., 2017) endeavored to establish the link between cognitive decline and lifestyle. The study’s findings indicated that exercising weight control and healthy eating are good for the brain. Weight control was found to help maintain blood pressure within recommended levels and minimize the risk of cardiovascular complications, yielding dementia. On the other healthy diet is linked to overall strong body immunity and empowering the brain to function normally. Thus, embracing healthier living results in better health.
Further Research
Compulsive processes in the brain that underlie dementia begin way before clinical indications and then develop slowly. Therefore, it is necessary to develop interventions to identify and treat the preclinical phases of the sickness. Therefore, further research should focus on investigating alternative treatment measures to help reduce the adversities of dementia in old age. Finally, the predisposing factors to dementia vary in terms of chance. As such, researchers should delve into research studies to establish the level of adversity of various factors that predispose older adults to dementia.
Conclusion
Elderly people are faced with a higher risk of developing dementia complications compared to the younger population. The effects of mental disease are felt by individuals, households, and the community at large. Early detection and treatment play a vital role in easing the adverse healthcare, social, financial, and other impacts of the illness. Moreover, other preventive strategies such as encouraging people to desist from risky modifiable behaviors like smoking and excessive drinking of alcohol could reduce the prevalence rate of dementia. The role of institutions in the prevention process is also key since individuals can be admitted for rehabilitation. Finally, embracing healthy living practices could help reduce the prevalence of dementia. Humans need to exercise caution in their daily lives to reduce their vulnerability to dementia. Although numerous studies have addressed dementia in various dimensions, further research would be relevant in clarifying the issue even more.
References
Clare, L; Wu, Y; Teale C.J; MacLeod, C; Matthews, F; Brayne, C. & Woods, B. (2017). Potentially modifiable lifestyle factors, cognitive reserve, and cognitive function in later life: A cross-sectional study. Plos Med 14 (3): e1002259. Doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002259.
Ku, L.E; Pai, M. & Shih, P. (2016). Economic Impact of Dementia by Disease Severity: Exploring the Relationship between Stage of Dementia and Cost of Care in Taiwan. Plos one 11 (2). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4747483/.
Read, S; Cosmas-Herrera, A. & Grundy. E. (2020). Social Isolation and Memory Decline in Later-life. The Journals of Gerontology 75 (2) 367-376. https://academic.coup.com/psychsocgerontology/article/75/2/367/5645554.
Solomon, A; Mangialasche, F; Richard, E; Andrieu, S; Bennett, A.D; Breteler, M; Fratiglioni, L; Hooshmand, B; Khachaturian, S.A; Schneider, S.L; Skoog, I, & Kivipelto M. (2015). Advances in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. US National Library of Medicine, National Institute of Health. Doi: 10.1111/joim.12178. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4390027/.
World Health Organization (2019). Dementia. Global, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dementia#:~:text=Dementia%20is%20a%20syndrome%20in,ability%20to%20perform%20everyday%20activities.