Do I suffer from Dementia?

Hong Kong has surpassed Japan as the place with the greatest longevity. At the same time, Hong Kong is facing many age-related challenges. Approximately 10% of its elderly residents aged 70 years or older are living with dementia, and the situation is becoming more and more common. So what is the difference between dementia and memory loss that can be attributed to the normal aging process or something else? Below are some characteristics of dementia:

• Dementia is a general term for brain dysfunction, and can be divided into Alzheimer’s, Vascular dementia, Frontotemporal dementia, or Lewy body dementia, etc.
• Most commonly seen is Alzheimer’s, which first affects the hippocampus that stores short-term memory. People with dementia will continue to find it difficult to recall recent memories, and may even forget events completely, with no impression at all. It will be noticeably different from “normal” memory loss.
• The overall cognitive ability of people with dementia will diminish. In addition to memory loss, they will find it difficult to learn, comprehend, have a sense of direction and exercise good judgment.
• They may experience depression, hallucinate, be suspicious or exhibit a change in personality.
• The disease is not limited to the elderly. There have been people as young as their late 20s who show signs of dementia.

For details, please visit the Jockey Club Centre for Positive Ageing’s webpage "What is Dementia" and do a preliminary assessment "Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly" for yourself and those you love.

Kenny Chui, Project Manager and Senior Training Consultant at the Jockey Club Centre for Positive Ageing, explained that the first person to discover the symptoms of dementia is the person him/herself. Often, they will try to deal with the challenges caused by the disease, and may try to compensate with other methods to avoid embarrassment. For example, as they gradually lose short-term memory, they will talk repeatedly and mention past events that they do remember, or they will use technology to help them remember things so that family members will not be aware of the challenges they face. Fortunately, 80% of people with dementia are in the early or middle stages of the disease. With proper care, it is believed by most that they can be held in the mild to moderate degenerative state for seven to eight years. People with dementia won’t become incapacitated overnight, so family and friends should not focus solely on the symptoms and restrict their daily life. They should not forget that their loved ones still have a lot of abilities and strengths.

Many may worry that their loved ones living with dementia will forget them or not recognise them in future. Kenny will share with us why this happens and briefly discusses how people with dementia see the world.