Dementia

Dementia

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – Pandemic made access to medical care, support challenging for dementia patients.

Concept –

• Dementia is a disease of the brain characterised by progressive deterioration in brain function, including memory, learning, orientation, language, comprehension and judgment.
• The irreversible decline in intellectual and physical functioning affects the person with dementia and causes significant distress to their family and carers.
• As per the Dementia India report 2020, 5.3 million people above the age of 60 have dementia in our country. The numbers are expected to double in 20 years. In Bengaluru, it is estimated over 46,000 elders are with dementia.
• In India, it is estimated that one in 27 people (5.3 million) above the age of 60 had dementia in 2020, according to the Dementia in India 2020 report published by the Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India (ARDSI). This is projected to rise to 7.6 million by 2030.
• People with dementia are at high risk of mortality due to COVID-19 which was evident in care homes in the West which were worst-affected during both waves of the pandemic.
• The annual household cost of caring for a person with dementia in India, depending on the severity of the disease, ranges between ₹45,600 to ₹2,02,450 in urban areas and ₹20,300 to ₹66,025 in rural areas.
• Mental Health Act, 2017, gives details on advance directives, nominated representatives and minimum standards, though more work needs to be done about financial support.
• With NIMHANS, the Centre for Brain Research, and initiatives such as SKAN, there has been active research in the field of dementia diagnosis and treatment.