Abstract Dementia is a family of degenerative diseases. It is a health problem compromising the mental and physical health of it suffers, as well as challenging their quality of life. No cure exists for this disease. This paper presents predicaments caused by dementia and it’s impacts on mental health, social interactions, abuse, and intelligence. Dementia and Adulthood Dementia is one of the most feared diseases. Globally, it affects thirty-seven million people. The disease causes cognitive and behavioral decline that lead to permanent, irreversible and degenerative damage to the brain. The damage is so traumatizing it leads to death. The population most susceptible to this deadly disease are adults over the age of sixty-five. It is forecasted that by the year 2050, approximately 16 million people will be diagnosed with dementia. Despite the facts, recently there has been a rise in the number of adults being diagnosed with early onset dementia; challenging even younger adults to live with this disease longer. To ensure a healthy life for our population and a quality of life, it is imperative that we find a cure. Until a cure is rendered, many will suffer indefinitely. Pre-senile Dementia Adults younger than sixty-five are now being diagnosed with early onset dementia. This rise is being considered “…a significant clinical and social problem” (Werner 2009). Frequently, early onset dementia is misdiagnosed due to most physicians assuming
Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly, accounting for 65–70% of all cases (Jellinger, Janetzky, Attems, & Kienzl, 2008). The other dementias are of the Parkinson 's group, the fronto-temporal group and the vascular group. The total worldwide yearly costs for the treatment and care of patients suffering from dementia are estimated to be around 250 billion US dollars. The lifetime risk for AD between the ages of 65 and 100 is 33% for men and 45% for women with an annual increase of 1–2% in the seventh decade to almost 60% in the 10th decade with doubling every 5 years (Jellinger et al., 2008). AD is incurable, and thus represents a major public health problem. AD represents a challenge to humanity due to its relatively recent discovery, progressive nature of the illness, and complex diagnosis.
Alzheimer’s disease is the 6th leading cause of death in America. It kills more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. Alzheimer’s accounts for 70-80% of dementia cases. By the age of 65, 1 in 9 people are diagnosed and by the age of 85, 1 in 3 people will have the disease. According to the Alzheimer Association, 5 million people in American have Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s starts to form 20 years prior to being diagnosed. Learning about Alzheimer’s can help families understand how Alzheimer’s is more than just memory loss, it is an incurable mental disease.
The disease called Alzheimer’s is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States (Weiner, 1987). It is estimated that the elderly population will double between now and 2030. During this period, the number of elderly will grow by an average of 2.8% annually (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001). By 2050, the number of people with Alzheimer’s is estimated to range from 11.3 million to 16 million (Alzheimer’s Association, 2005). These startling numbers should prompt an examination into one of the leading causes of death among this group of people. Understanding what Alzheimer’s is and the known causes of the disease are a good starting point. For those who have aging family members, knowing the risk factors and warning
Dementia refers to a syndrome which results in deterioration in thinking, memory, behavior, and ability to execute everyday activities and duties. Despite the fact that the syndrome is mainly associated with the older people, it is not a normal aspect or part of ageing. One of the major causes of dementia is the aspect of Alzheimer's disease. This disease contributes to about 60 to 70 percent of the cases of dementia. Dementia possesses psychological, physical, economic, and social impacts in relation to the family, caregivers, and the entire society. Dementia affects each individual in a diverse or different way with reference to the impact of the disease and personality following the development of the syndrome (Gao et al, 2013 p. 447).
The research aims at determining the affect of dementia on the lives of individuals and how it impacts on their social interactions. The research will also identify the ways in which aging individuals can refrain themselves from falling prey to this disease. It will highlight some important information for caregivers who will better understand this disease and will know how to deal with people who have this disease. As we all
Alzheimer’s disease is a complex illness that affects the brain tissue directly and undergoes gradual memory and behavioral changes which makes it difficult to diagnose. It is known to be the most common form of dementia and is irreversible. Over four million older Americans have Alzheimer’s, and that number is expected to triple in the next twenty years as more people live into their eighties and nineties. (Johnson, 1989). There is still no cure for Alzheimer’s but throughout the past few years a lot of progress has been made.
An estimated 47.5 million people suffer from dementia. Every 4 seconds one new case of dementia is diagnosed. Dementia is a term that describes certain symptoms such as impairment to memory, communication and thinking. It is a group of symptoms and not just one illness. Even though one‘s chance of getting dementia increase with age, it is not a part of aging. Dementia is usually diagnosed after a series of assessments that includes a physical evaluation, memory tests, imaging studies and blood work. It affects three aspects of one’s mental function, cognitive dysfunction (Problems with memory, language, thinking and problem solving), psychiatric behavior (changes in personality, emotional control, social behavior and delusions) and difficulties with daily living activities (driving, shopping, eating and dressing). “The median survival time in women is 4.6 years and in men 4.1 years” (Warren, 2016).
One of the most prominent and perhaps most feared condition associated with aging is dementia. The family of disorders can cause individuals to lose their mind, reducing one from being a complex, thinking, feeling human being to being confused and vegetative, unable to recognize their loved ones. Serious dementia affects nearly 37 million people globally, but predictions of how those numbers will change over the next few decades are conflicting (textbook). Although we know dementia as to do with damage to nerve cells in the brain, there are ongoing studies looking at correlations between other health issues and these types of diseases.
With dementia, due to a significant delay between onset of disease and actual diagnosis, it is difficult to estimate the prevalence in populations, as the total number of people having the condition at a given time is not known. The most recent data on the prevalence of
Dementia is a type of disorder that affects the central nervous system. It’s not a disease itself but a group of symptoms that characterize disease and conditions. It’s commonly defined as a decline in intellectual functioning that is severe enough to interfere with the ability to perform routine activities. It causes significant loss of intellectual abilities, such as memory capacity, severe enough to interfere with social or occupational functioning. Dementia‘s a general term that also includes specific disorders like vascular dementia as well as others.
Dementia is reported that it doubles every five years after the age of 65. The cognitive decrease related with dementia affects an individual’s capacity to understand and produce capability information. In addition, behavioral issues that grow as a outcome of the neuropathology such as repetitiousness, hallucinations, and paranoia may interfere with communicating with others. The likelihood of suffering from dementia increases with age. It mostly occurs in the second half of life. One is at a risk after the age of 65 to develop dementia. It usually progresses slowly. Dementia is mostly related with the older adult
Dementia is a disease which causes mental debility and affects one’s way of intelligent, attentiveness, recollection and problem-solving (NHS, 2013). As a result of dysfunction of brain cells in some parts of the brain it affects the thinking process then dementia occurs and it usually comes with age (Ibid). It is estimated that 560
Dementia affects about 3-4 million people in some way, either directly or indirectly. It is becoming more and more common as people are living longer. There is no known cause or cure for this disease, that affects adult’s ages 65-85 years old and is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States.
Over three million people every year are diagnosed with a group of conditions, called dementia. Dementia is not a disease itself, but instead is a term that is used to describe a range of symptoms. Actual diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and strokes, can cause dementia. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause for dementia; it accounts for sixty to eighty percent of all dementia cases. Incorrectly, dementia is sometimes called “senility.” This is incorrect because the term “senility” portrays dementia and its symptoms as normal signs of aging, which is not the case.
Dementia is a chronic syndrome, characterized by a progressive deterioration in intellect, including memory, learning, comprehension and judgment (World Alzheimer’s report, 2009). 46.8 million people worldwide were estimated to have dementia in 2015 and this is set to rise to 131.5 million people by 2050 (World Alzheimer report 2015). There are