Understanding dementia

At this stage of our lives, we have more opportunity to devote time to ourselves and the things we like to do. With much of the responsibilities of caring for our families and/or our busy working lives behind us, we can enjoy life at a more leisurely pace.

We would also begin to experience normal age-related memory changes such as occasionally misplacing things. However, if the bouts of forgetfulness are persistent and other cognitive declines appear (e.g. forgetting how to go home despite taking the same routes for years), they may be signs of dementia.

As dementia can affect our lives greatly, it is important to learn more about this topic.

What is dementia?

Slight changes in memory may occur naturally as we age, be it simple forgetfulness or delay in recalling names, dates, and events. Experiencing small memory lapses and becoming forgetful does not necessarily mean that we have dementia.

Let’s learn about the common misconceptions about dementia:

What people may think:

Dementia is a natural
part of ageing.

But did you know?

Dementia is not a part of normal ageing. It is an illness that affects the brain, leading to progressive memory loss, decline in cognitive abilities (relating to the processes of thinking and reasoning), and personality changes.

In normal ageing, a person may still be able to:

Go about their daily activities and function independently, despite occasional forgetfulness
Make decisions
Recall and describe significant events
Engage in conversations with others

On the other hand, a person living with dementia may find it challenging to carry out these activities.

What people may think:

Dementia is the same
as Alzheimer’s Disease.

But did you know?

There are different types of dementia, each with different causes and symptoms.

Alzheimer’s Disease is one type of dementia.

The different types of dementia have something in common, i.e. changes happening in the brain.

What people may think:

There is nothing we can
do to prevent dementia.

But did you know?

There are things we can do to lower the risk, or to delay the onset of dementia:

Be physically active and exercise regularly
Keep blood pressure at a healthy level
Monitor blood glucose if we have diabetes
Eat a balanced diet
Quit smoking
Go for regular health screening
Refrain from heavy alcohol intake
Be socially engaged
Sleep well
Stimulate our minds by playing strategy games and puzzles or learning something new such as:
- playing a musical instrument
- trying to eat with the hand we don’t usually use
- taking a new route home
- breaking an old habit

Learn other misconceptions

How does dementia affect us?

Dementia is the name for a group of brain disorders that result in the loss of intellectual abilities such as memory and reasoning. It is a syndrome with a group of symptoms that doesn’t have a definitive diagnosis. Adults of any age can be affected by dementia.

Based on the Well-being of the Singapore Elderly (WiSE) nationwide study by the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), 1 in 10 people aged 60 years and above has dementia. Those with dementia may gradually find the following challenging:

Thinking and reasoning

Problem-solving and making
judgements/reasoning

Remembering new information
or recalling recent events

Learning new
information and skills

Recognising familiar
faces and items

Finding the right words
to communicate

There are different types of dementia, some common ones include:

left

What is it?
What causes it?
How does it affect us?

What is it?

Vascular dementia is an illness that affects the brain, leading to progressive memory loss, decline in intellectual ability and personality changes.

What causes it?

Vascular dementia is caused by reduced supply of blood to the brain due to damaged or blocked blood vessels, depriving the brain cells of vital oxygen and nutrients.

Memory loss isn’t the typical first symptom. Instead, people with vascular dementia can have different signs, depending on the area of the brain that’s affected, such as problems with planning or judgement.

There are many factors that can increase the chances of damage to blood vessels in the brain, which in effect increases the risk of getting vascular dementia:

High blood pressure

High cholesterol

Type 2 diabetes

Obesity

Smoking

Stroke

Learn more here and how to reduce your risk.

How does it affect us?

It affects our ability to think, learn and make decisions.

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