Dementia Facts and Statistics

There are many dementia facts and statistics to be taken into account when dealing with possible dementia.

•The statistics are overwhelming with an estimated 35.6 million people worldwide, living with some form of dementia in 2010

•This is a 10% increase over previous global dementia prevalence reported in 2005 (According to a report issued by Alzheimer's Disease International)

•Dementia prevalence will nearly double every 20 years, to 65.7 million in 2030 and 115.4 million in 2050

•The fastest growing segment of our population is the age group of the over 80’s and the odds of suffering dementia for this group are therefore high

•About one in six females over the age of 55 could develop Alzheimer's

•There is no one test to determine if someone has dementia

•The best approach is to adopt is a healthy lifestyle early on in life

•Researchers have found that bilingual people who develop dementia do so four years later than monolingual people who develop dementia.

•Many dementias are progressive and symptoms start slowly and gradually get worse with time

•Treatment for dementia depends on the cause. For most dementias there is no cure and no treatment that slows or stops its progression. There are, however, drugs that may temporarily improve symptoms

According to experts, there are two main categories of dementia:

Cortical Dementia

The outer layer of the brain is affected. The cerebral cortex (outer layer) is vital for reasoning, language and memory. Alzheimer's disease is a form of cortical dementia, as is Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

Subcortical Dementia

A part of the brain deep inside the cortex becomes damaged and, although language and memory are not usually affected, the following abilities will be:

•Personality

•Thought processes may slow down

•Attention span may be shortened

Dementias caused by Parkinson's disease, AIDS and Huntington's disease are subcortical dementias.

A patient with multi-infarct dementia will have both the cortical and subcortical parts of the brain affected or damaged.

While symptoms of dementia can vary greatly, at least two of the following core mental functions must be significantly impaired to be considered dementia:

•Memory

•Communication and language

•Ability to focus and pay attention

•Reasoning and judgment

•Visual perception

There are dementia treatments for some forms of dementia; namely those caused by certain medical conditions.

You should consider dementia care homes if it is not possible to provide the best dementia treatment within your family unit. How to choose the right dementia care homes.