Dementia is the deterioration of cognitive abilities causing impairment with the most common symptom of diminished memory especially for recent events. There are many different causes of dementia with a very high public health cost. Psychiatric symptoms secondary to dementia are 50% of people with dementia experience depression, sleep disturbances are common, delusions and hallucinations can occur, and difficulty with impulse control. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI 1) is where most dementias develop slowly over a period of years where behavioral deficits often emerge before noticeable impairment with early signs of decline before functional impairment. Problems with DSM-5 criteria are requiring a low score on only one cognitive test. Some cognitive tests are more reliable and relevant than others while using more than one test improves reliability. 10% of the time, cognitive declines are tied to other problems such as infection, sleep loss, thyroid disease, and vitamin deficiencies. Current MCI criteria may not be very reliable and could lead to over-diagnosis. Not all people with MCI develop dementia. The DSM criteria for MCI is the modest cognitive decline from previous levels in one or more domains based on concerns of the patient, a close other, or a clinician. Impairment in one or more cognitive domains is compared to expectations for the patient’s age and educational level or compared to baseline testing. There must be the preservation of ability to function independently and cognitive deficits are not due to vascular, trauma, or other medical conditions. The DSM criteria for dementia is cognitive or behavioral symptoms that are reported by the patient or knowledgeable informant or are shown on an objective cognitive assessment, interfere with the ability to function at work or at usual activities, represent a decline from previous levels of functioning and performing, and the impairments are observed in at least 2 domains of memory, reasoning/judgement, visuospatial, language, or personality/behavior. The prevalence of dementia is less than 2% before the age of 65 with increases dramatically as people age and is more than 1/3 of people in their 90s. The age of onset is becoming later over time in the United States and Europe. The number of cases is expected to double by 2030 as the number of elderly grow and appears lower in sub-Saharan African and high in Latin America. The types of dementia include Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, vascular dementia, and Lewy body dementia. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form accounting for more than half of dementias.
A research article aimed to address the desire of people with dementia who wanted to understand and become more informative of dementia risk reduction (DRR). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the beliefs, attitudes, and understanding of dementia as well as DRR among people who are related to loved ones with dementia. The methods involved using three group discussions using structured topic guides that focused on the discussion of DRR and dementia. These discussions were transcribed, and audio recorded and then analyzed thoroughly by the researched and categorized into themes. The results showed that showed that many of the people in the group discussions had little knowledge about DRR and typically spoke of dementia through the experience of having someone with the disease. However, they did express positivity towards DRR and even offered suggestions to help DRR become more effective. This implies that the knowledge of DRR is very little and should become more aware to people among loved ones with dementia. It is also suggested that these people at more at risk for developing dementia if they experience being around a parent who is diagnosed with dementia.
Vrijsen, J., Maeckelberghe, E. L., Broekstra, R., de Vries, J. J., Abu-Hanna, A., De Deyn, P. P., Voshaar, R. C., Reesink, F. E., Buskens, E., de Rooij, S. E., & Smidt, N. (2021). Knowledge, health beliefs and attitudes towards dementia and dementia risk reduction among descendants of people with dementia: A qualitative study using focus group discussions. BMC Public Health, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11415-2