Dementia describes a group of symptoms affecting memory, thinking and social abilities severely enough to interfere with your daily life. It is not a specific disease, but several different diseases may cause dementia.
Though dementia generally involves memory loss, it also has different causes. Having memory loss alone does not mean you have dementia.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of progressive dementia in older adults, but there are a number of causes of dementia. Depending on the cause, some dementia symptoms may be reversible. Dementia mostly affects people over 65, but frontotemporal dementia tends to start at a younger age. Most cases are diagnosed in people aged 45-65, although it can also affect younger or older people.
Key Facts
- There are 47.5 million estimated dementia sufferers worldwide
- One new case of dementia is diagnosed every 4 seconds
- Dementia mostly affects older people but is not a normal part of aging
- Disorders grouped under the general term “dementia” are caused by abnormal brain changes.
- Alzheimer’s disease accounts for 60-80% of cases.
- Dementia is often incorrectly referred to as “senility” or “senile dementia,” which reflects the formerly widespread but incorrect belief that serious mental decline is a normal part of aging.
- Like other types of dementia, frontotemporal dementia tends to develop slowly and get gradually worse over several years.
Causes
- Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. Although not all causes of Alzheimer’s disease are known, experts do know that a small percentage are related to mutations of three genes, which can be passed down from parent to child.
- Vascular dementia. This second most common type of dementia is caused by damage to the vessels that supply blood to your brain. Blood vessel problems can cause strokes or damage the brain in other ways, such as by damaging the fibers in the white matter of the brain.
- Lewy body dementia. Lewy bodies are abnormal balloon-like clumps of protein that have been found in the brains of people with Lewy body dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease. This is one of the more common types of progressive dementia.
- Frontotemporal dementia. This is a group of diseases characterized by the breakdown (degeneration) of nerve cells and their connections in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, the areas generally associated with personality, behavior, and language.
- Mixed dementia. Autopsy studies of the brains of people 80 and older who had dementia indicate that many had a combination of several causes, such as Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, and Lewy body dementia
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. This rare brain disorder usually occurs in people without known risk factors. This condition might be due to deposits of infectious proteins called prions. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease usually has no known cause but can be inherited. It may also be caused by exposure to diseased brain or nervous system tissue, such as from a cornea transplant.
- Parkinson’s disease. Many people with Parkinson’s disease eventually develop dementia symptoms (Parkinson’s disease dementia).
Prevention
- Keep your mind active. Mentally stimulating activities, such as reading, solving puzzles and playing word games, and memory training might delay the onset of dementia and decrease its effects.
- Be physically and socially active. Physical activity and social interaction might delay the onset of dementia and reduce its symptoms. Move more and aim for 150 minutes of exercise a week.
- Quit smoking. Some studies have shown that smoking in middle age and beyond may increase your risk of dementia and blood vessel (vascular) conditions. Quitting smoking might reduce your risk and will improve your health.
- Get enough vitamins. Some research suggests that people with low levels of vitamin D in their blood are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. You can get vitamin D through certain foods, supplements, and sun exposure.
More study is needed before an increase in vitamin D intake is recommended for preventing dementia, but it is a good idea to make sure you get adequate vitamin D. Taking a daily B-complex vitamin and vitamin C may also be helpful.
- Manage cardiovascular risk factors. Treat high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and high body mass index (BMI). High blood pressure might lead to a higher risk of some types of dementia. More research is needed to determine whether treating high blood pressure may reduce the risk of dementia.
You might also hear Dementia called a major neurocognitive disorder. Dementia is not a disease. Instead, it is a group of symptoms caused by other conditions.
About 5%-8% of adults over age 65 have some form of dementia. This percentage doubles every 5 years after 65. As many as half of people in their 80s have some dementia.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. Between 60%-80% of people with dementia have Alzheimer’s, but there are as many as 50 other causes of dementia.
Dementia symptoms may improve with treatment, but many of the diseases that cause dementia are not curable.
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