Dementia: Definition and Prevalence
Diseases associated with a person’s mental state should be of particular importance for the health care system since the mental state of the population affects public health. Dementia is a neurocognitive intellectual disability that can impair a person’s cognitive abilities (Livingston et al., 2002). Thus, it directly affects the ability of people to be in society. 4% of people over the age of 65 have dementia in the UK (Office for Health Improvement & Disparities, 2022).
Symptoms
Memory impairment is the main symptom of the disease. In addition, important symptoms are impaired coordination and memory loss. The patient reacts aggressively to what is happening and becomes irritable, impulsive, and sloppy. Memory disorder, as a rule, progresses very quickly. Dementia can develop predominantly in older people of any gender and race. Diagnosis of dementia may include laboratory tests, CT, MRI, vascular ultrasound, and EEG. With their help, the disease’s organic nature can be confirmed.
Treatment
Symptomatic treatment of dementia is carried out with antipsychotics, antidepressants, and sleeping pills. In addition to drug therapy, music therapy, psychotherapy, and occupational therapy are effective. Important steps in caring for someone with dementia include:
- Adaptation of the environment;
- Plan walks with a specific goal;
- Help in managing the patient’s belongings;
- Support for abilities that are still preserved;
- Keep track of your food intake.
Raising Public Awareness
In order to inform the public about the problem, a plan should be developed with coverage and stories about how the disorder can be preventively dealt with. For such steps, for example, events can be held using visual posters, as in Figure 1. In addition, informing the public about the disease can be achieved through the organization of preventive measures against dementia. Students in sporadic cases can develop this disease, so the treatment methods are the same as those described previously. Websites such as Canva (to create a poster) and Google Scholar (to find reliable information) can be used to create dementia information posters. Dementia is a dangerous disease that can significantly harm a person in old age, so it needs proper treatment.
References
Livingston, G., Huntley, J., Sommerlad, A., Ames, D., Ballard, C., Banerjee, S., Brayne, C., Burns, A., Cohen-Mansfield, J., Cooper, C., Costafreda, S., Dias, A., Fox, N., Gitlin, L., Howard, R., Kales, H., Kivimäki, M., Larson, E., Ogunniyi, A., Orgeta, V., Ritchie, K., Rockwood, K., Sampson, E., Samus, Q., Schneider, L., Selbæk, G., Teri, L. & Mukadam, N. (2020). Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2020 report of the Lancet Commission. The Lancet, 396(10248), 413-446. Web.
Office for Health Improvement & Disparities. (2022). Statistical commentary: dementia profile. Web.