Today I was looking through some medical articles and this one caught my attention mainly because of our medical societies afternoon tea with those suffering from dementia yesterday but also because of my personal connection to the disease.
The article highlights to me many of the points the coordinator of the discussion spoke of yesterday. The article explains the taboos around Alzheimer's as being an almost natural part of the aging process when in actual fact it is a disease that with research could be stopped or prevented from developing. Yesterday the coordinator spoke of those in different communities often finding it hard to open up to their community about their disease particularly those living in Islamic or Hindu communities where the disease is less understood. He explained that this stems from it being thought of as a mental illness rather than a physical disease. Equally, he explained that the older generation were less inclined to join groups like the one he coordinated and was unsure of whether this was because of the stigma surrounding dementia, that is more understood in the younger generations, or whether it was something else like wanting to have the support of the group.
The article illustrates that dementia is now the leading cause of death in England and Wales with 61000 people having died from dementia last year accounting for 11.6% of all recorded deaths. However, from this information we can not be clear whether dementia is on the rise as a disease. The article provides explanations for this increase such as, the disease being diagnosed better so we are more aware that an individual has died from dementia. Or that it is due to the aging population and thus the percentage numbers are the same but it is simply the sample number that is bigger. When comparing the deaths from dementia with Heart disease the increase could be due to Heart disease being better treated rather than a severe increase in dementia numbers. it would be interesting to see if research is being done to see whether there is some reason as to why dementia is on the rise just as we know that carcinogenic chemicals can increase the risk of cancer so to could there be something cause this increase in those suffering from the disease?
However, it is clear that this disease is becoming the next big tackle for medical research. From the afternoon tea with the dementia residents 5 of us from school new someone in our family who had suffered or is suffering from dementia. I think it is so important for more research to be done into the disease and more should be done in care homes and support groups to help those with dementia and understand their needs and how to best hope them with their every day lives. I think from the group we met dementia does not have to define an individual and thus support should be given to help them live well with dementia.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-37972141
The article highlights to me many of the points the coordinator of the discussion spoke of yesterday. The article explains the taboos around Alzheimer's as being an almost natural part of the aging process when in actual fact it is a disease that with research could be stopped or prevented from developing. Yesterday the coordinator spoke of those in different communities often finding it hard to open up to their community about their disease particularly those living in Islamic or Hindu communities where the disease is less understood. He explained that this stems from it being thought of as a mental illness rather than a physical disease. Equally, he explained that the older generation were less inclined to join groups like the one he coordinated and was unsure of whether this was because of the stigma surrounding dementia, that is more understood in the younger generations, or whether it was something else like wanting to have the support of the group.
The article illustrates that dementia is now the leading cause of death in England and Wales with 61000 people having died from dementia last year accounting for 11.6% of all recorded deaths. However, from this information we can not be clear whether dementia is on the rise as a disease. The article provides explanations for this increase such as, the disease being diagnosed better so we are more aware that an individual has died from dementia. Or that it is due to the aging population and thus the percentage numbers are the same but it is simply the sample number that is bigger. When comparing the deaths from dementia with Heart disease the increase could be due to Heart disease being better treated rather than a severe increase in dementia numbers. it would be interesting to see if research is being done to see whether there is some reason as to why dementia is on the rise just as we know that carcinogenic chemicals can increase the risk of cancer so to could there be something cause this increase in those suffering from the disease?
However, it is clear that this disease is becoming the next big tackle for medical research. From the afternoon tea with the dementia residents 5 of us from school new someone in our family who had suffered or is suffering from dementia. I think it is so important for more research to be done into the disease and more should be done in care homes and support groups to help those with dementia and understand their needs and how to best hope them with their every day lives. I think from the group we met dementia does not have to define an individual and thus support should be given to help them live well with dementia.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-37972141