Caregiver’s Guide to Understanding Dementia Behaviors:Key Facts, Symptoms, and Care Strategies – Visiting Angels Middlesex
Key facts
- Currently more than 55 million people have dementia worldwide, over 60% of whom live in low-and middle-income countries. Every year, there are nearly 10 million new cases.
- Dementia results from a variety of diseases and injuries that affect the brain. Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia and may contribute to 60–70% of cases.
- Dementia is currently the seventh leading cause of death and one of the major causes of disability and dependency among older people globally.
- In 2019, dementia cost economies globally 1.3 trillion US dollars, approximately 50% of these costs are attributable to care provided by informal carers (e.g. family members and close friends), who provide on average 5 hours of care and supervision per day.
- Women are disproportionately affected by dementia, both directly and indirectly. Women experience higher disability-adjusted life years and mortality due to dementia, but also provide 70% of care hours for people living with dementia.
Overview
Dementia is a term for several diseases that affect memory, thinking, and the ability to perform daily activities.
The illness gets worse over time. It mainly affects older people but not all people will get it as they age.
Things that increase the risk of developing dementia include:
- age (more common in those 65 or older)
- high blood pressure (hypertension)
- high blood sugar (diabetes)
- being overweight or obese
- smoking
- drinking too much alcohol
- being physically inactive
- being socially isolated
- depression.
Dementia is a syndrome that can be caused by a number of diseases which over time destroy nerve cells and damage the brain, typically leading to deterioration in cognitive function (i.e. the ability to process thought) beyond what might be expected from the usual consequences of biological ageing. While consciousness is not affected, the impairment in cognitive function is commonly accompanied, and occasionally preceded, by changes in mood, emotional control, behaviour, or motivation.
Dementia has physical, psychological, social and economic impacts, not only for people living with dementia, but also for their carers, families and society at large. There is often a lack of awareness and understanding of dementia, resulting in stigmatization and barriers to diagnosis and care.
Signs and symptoms
Changes in mood and behaviour sometimes happen even before memory problems occur. Symptoms get worse over time. Eventually, most people with dementia will need others to help with daily activities.
Early signs and symptoms are:
- forgetting things or recent events
- losing or misplacing things
- getting lost when walking or driving
- being confused, even in familiar places
- losing track of time
- difficulties solving problems or making decisions
- problems following conversations or trouble finding words
- difficulties performing familiar tasks
- misjudging distances to objects visually.
Common changes in mood and behaviour include:
- feeling anxious, sad, or angry about memory loss
- personality changes
- inappropriate behaviour
- withdrawal from work or social activities
- being less interested in other people’s emotions.
Dementia affects each person in a different way, depending upon the underlying causes, other health conditions and the person’s cognitive functioning before becoming ill.
Most symptoms become worse over time, while others might disappear or only occur in the later stages of dementia. As the disease progresses, the need for help with personal care increases. People with dementia may not be able to recognize family members or friends, develop difficulties moving around, lose control over their bladder and bowls, have trouble eating and drinking and experience behaviour changes such as aggression that are distressing to the person with dementia as well as those around them.
