LIVING WITH ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE: THE SIZE OF THE PROBLEM
April 2nd, 2009Dementia probably afflicts in the region of a half to three-quarters of a million people in the UK. It is therefore a problem that already surpasses Aids in its magnitude and, unlike Aids, many of the causes of dementia, especially Alzheimer’s disease, are conditions for which there are no known preventative or therapeutic measures currently available. It is often estimated that approximately 7-10 per cent of the population aged sixty-five and over suffer from one of the dementias. This of course means that most people are not so afflicted and are, therefore, in a position to help those less fortunate than themselves. Clearly, those suffering from dementia are unable to improve their lot on their own, and cannot lobby for better facilities and care for themselves, or greater support for those looking after them. It is a great scandal that even in such a civilized society as ours, it is those who can make the biggest noise about their plight or who command a significant proportion of the vote, that are most likely to advance their position.
The size of the problem is going to escalate rapidly, especially in the next twenty years. Of those aged sixty-five to seventy, it appears that approximately one person in twenty has dementia, but the proportion of sufferers rises with increasing age, and of those over the age of seventy-five, one person in five will probably have some degree of dementia. The number of older people in our population is expected to increase greatly between now and the early years of the next century, and by far the largest proportional increase will be in those aged seventy-five and over. This means, of course, that the growing number of elderly people suffering with dementia is going to make greater and greater demands upon the rest of society, unless effective treatment or preventative measures become available in the near future.
Alzheimer’s disease is probably responsible for about 60 per cent, just a little under two-thirds, of all the cases of dementia. A further 15 to 20 per cent are probably caused by multiple infarct dementia and approximately another 15 per cent have both Alzheimer’s disease and multiple infarct dementia. This means that the other conditions, some of which are treatable, make up only a small proportion of the causes.
In approximately 10 per cent of people suffering from dementia up to the age of sixty-five, the underlying cause will be treatable. In older people, especially those over the age of seventy, this figure probably falls to 5 per cent, one person in twenty. This is nevertheless a significant and important number of people for whom treatment can alleviate an otherwise bleak future. Treatment of some of the underlying conditions will not necessarily reverse the dementia, but may only stop it from getting worse, but everybody who develops dementia should be screened for the underlying illness that is causing it as early as possible to limit the damage that is done before treatment is started.
Even for those in whom the dementia proves to be untreatable, once a diagnosis has been made it is easier to plan the future, advise relatives or other carers of what the future may hold and how they can best prepare themselves for what lies ahead. A lot of support is usually available, far more than is often realized, and access to this is facilitated once the diagnosis is known and accepted. In those parts of the country where sadly there is little support or none, knowledge of the diagnosis may allow relatives to get together to try to help each other and to lobby for more resources.
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