Dementia: Symptoms, Risk Factors, Prevention, & More

Dementia refers to a range of symptoms that affect a person’s cognitive functioning, especially their capacity to remember, reason, and think. Dementia occurs in humans as they age, but it is not a normal part of the aging process—it is a disease. In most cases, it gets worse over time.

The brain’s functions deteriorate when a person grows old, but people with dementia experience this change at a more rapid pace.

Early Signs of Dementia

There are 10 generally accepted early signs of dementia. For someone to be diagnosed with dementia, they must have at least two of these symptoms. The symptoms must also have affected them in a manner that affects their daily life.

1. Memory loss: This is a very common sign of dementia. Individuals experiencing an onset of dementia typically have trouble recalling information such as dates, events, or new information. While everyone experiences memory loss with old age, a person with age-related memory loss will recall the information later, as opposed to those with dementia.
2. Difficulty doing familiar tasks: Tasks that were once routine become more difficult. These tasks could include fixing themselves a cup of tea, operating a television set, or something else.
3. Poor planning and problem-solving ability: People with this condition find it difficult to plan ahead of time. With respect to problem-solving, they may struggle to do arithmetic, normal day-to-day transactions, or pay bills.
4. Confusion about time or place: Individuals experiencing an onset of dementia are usually confused about situations involving a place and time. They could totally forget where they are, what time of the day it is, or misplace events in time. To take care of elders who may be experiencing this, adult day care software may be helpful.
5. Problems speaking or writing: Another sign of dementia is problems with grammar and punctuation. The individual’s handwriting may even become illegible as dementia progresses. Holding a conversation might also become more difficult.
6. Issues comprehending visual information: This condition makes it hard to process visual information. This could include the length of a distance, color differences, or even reading. Driving might become especially difficult for some.
7. Misplacing things: Individuals experiencing dementia may find it difficult to recall where they left objects in day-to-day life. These objects could include their car keys, the remote control, or money. They may even go on to accuse others of stealing these objects from them.
8. Withdrawal from social situations: Sufferers typically do not want to socialize with people around them, making them much more withdrawn. Even if others try to speak to them, they may not pay attention.
9. Poor decision-making and judgment: Elders with dementia might fall victim to scams — paying too much for an item, or buying things they do not need. Judgment may become impaired to the point that their personal hygiene suffers.
10. Changes in mood or personality: The final symptom of dementia is mood swings and personality changes. Someone who was once courageous and assertive might become fearful, irritable, anxious, or even depressed.

How to Prevent Dementia

Considering these symptoms, what can be done to prevent the occurrence of the disease? Dementia does not have a known cause and is thus difficult to prevent. However, we do know many risk factors associated with dementia.

The risk factors include:

• Old age
• Low education level
• Genetic and environmental factors (including dietary and lifestyle patterns—with smoking and lack of regular exercise topping the list).
• Recent research also suggests that untreated depression, sedentary lifestyle, and loneliness/social isolation could be risk factors.

Research suggests that addressing these risk factors may reduce the chance of dementia by up to 30%. There are many ways to help seniors stay healthy, but here are some specific suggestions:

You can counteract the effect of these risk factors through:

• • Regular exercise.
  • Avoiding smoking.
  • Healthy eating.
  • Maintaining a healthy weight.
  • Improving mental alertness (could be done by reading, taking up new hobbies or solving puzzles).
  • Properly monitoring health problems (such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes).
  • Regularly engaging in social interactions.

Besides preventing dementia, your overall health would benefit from these measures.