According to the World Health Organization, up to 70% of dementia cases worldwide are due to Alzheimer’s disease. Other forms include vascular dementia and Lewy Body dementia.
Dementia can also develop after someone has had a stroke or due to repeated brain injuries.
But to many this illness is still not as defined as it should be.
Organisations like the Association for Dementia and Alzheimer’s of South Africa (Adasa) use September every year to call on everyone, from individuals to large organisations, to support World Alzheimer’s Month by getting involved and sharing information, especially on new research about this illness.
Welma Geldenhuys, social worker at the association, says new research in South Africa in low income rural populations indicates that dementia prevalence estimates were higher than expected.
Recent research indicated that in these communities there is a need for increased awareness and support interventions.
“The association started with awareness projects in these areas for the past two years and do awareness of the disease among youth, adults and the elderly. What we found was that the word ‘dementia’ is not part of the rural languages. We and the community developers had to create a word for this disease, and they came up with ‘the disease of forgetfulness’,” said Geldenhuys.
With these studies and the association’s community awareness campaign, researchers did discover that Alzheimer’s type of dementia and an AIDS-related type of dementia can become the highest types of dementia throughout all South African communities.
When it comes to normal aging versus dementia, she explained people start to forget things more as they get older. This is usually a typical sign of aging.
“With dementia, however, changes will be different, more serious, and will have a greater impact on their life. It will have an impact on all activities of daily living. When a person’s symptoms significantly affect their everyday life and functioning, it is important to reach out to a healthcare professional,” said Geldenhuys.
She warned individuals must be careful of factors that can lead to a misdiagnosis of dementia.
These factors could include anaemia, any infection, constipation, dehydration and depression.
Geldenhuys pointed out the risk factors that increase the chances of a person developing dementia.
“There are modifiable risk factors recognised as having strong evidence for their association with increased risk of dementia. These include obesity in midlife, smoking and excessive alcohol and drug use.”
She pointed out that diabetes is also a risk factor for both Alzheimer’s disease as well as the vascular type of dementia.
Social isolation is linked with an increased risk of developing dementia. It relates to whether a person lives alone, and whether they see friends and family or engage in social or community activities. Communication and being social is the number one stimulation of the brain,” said Geldenhuys.
Association CEO, Marlene Freislich, said dementia as a health risk to many South
Africans has never been part of census surveys.
“This is the primary reason why there is no National Dementia Plan. The national government focuses on data from census surveys to set priorities, roll out national plans, and allocate budgets. It is critically important to work towards obtaining the right statistics of our increasingly aging population,” warns Freislich.
– A concert to raise funds for Adasa will be held on September 15 at 15:00 at the NG Church University Resort in Pretoria East. Tickets can be obtained from Adasa spokesperson Ilse Schürmann on 082 851 7157.
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