Prevalance of Dementia in India

[Raghy]

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Respectable members,

Greetings. In the past I was hardly aware of dementia. Now reading the signs and symptoms of dementia is becoming my second nature. I am comparing the prevalances to Australia, UK, USA and such countries to India; I thought, India has less prevalances. It is also evidenced here -

" India is the second largest populous country. The prevalence doubles with every five-year increase in age. Looking at some studies, it appears that the prevalence of dementia in India is lower as compared to developed countries and even from other developing countries."

(paraphrased from here).

As per this report, BBC thinks, Indian villages may hold the key to beat dementia.

BBC News - Indian village may hold key to beating dementia

More on Alzheimers - Alzheimer's and Related Disorders Society of India (ARDSI)

Alzheimer's Association

Is it true, India has less prevalances of dementia? If so, what is the reason?

I request members to share their views, please. Thanks.

Cheers!

 

[Brahmanyan]

Respectable members,

Greetings. In the past I was hardly aware of dementia. Now reading the signs and symptoms of dementia is becoming my second nature. I am comparing the prevalances to Australia, UK, USA and such countries to India; I thought, India has less prevalances. It is also evidenced here -

" India is the second largest populous country. The prevalence doubles with every five-year increase in age. Looking at some studies, it appears that the prevalence of dementia in India is lower as compared to developed countries and even from other developing countries."

(paraphrased from here).

Is it true, India has less prevalence of dementia? If so, what is the reason?

I request members to share their views, please. Thanks.

Cheers!

Dear Sri Raghy,

Dementia is a progressive loss of cognitive ability found primarily in geriatric population. It is an age related worrying factor commonly known as senility. It starts with simple loss of memory, searching for names, places, time, date and period. Though not an illness but a descriptive term for collective disorders that affect the brain, it is a pathetic condition of advancing age. I have know a well known Lady Doctor a gynecologist, turning into a vegetable with advanced stage of dementia failing to recognize even her near and dear ones. Though it is a good news that India has less prevalence of Dementia, the question is how far our statistical information is reliable.The recent medical trials in Britain have found that "Daily tablets of large doses of B vitamins can halve the rate of brain shrinkage in elderly people with memory problems and may slow their progression toward dementia, ..." Antioxidants may protect against the development of dementia. But whether the farming community in Ballabgarh near Delhi enjoys these is the question.Perhaps the life style of the villagers given in the article as below may be the reason for low degree of Dementia found among the :
"Life in this fertile farming community is also low in stress, and family support is still strong, unlike in other, more urban parts of India".
"It all leads to a happy body, and a happy mind and hopefully a happy brain," says Dr Chandra.


Regards,
Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.

 

[R. Ramanujan]

This was completely unknown to me. I'm hearing this word Dementia for the 1st time in life. Personally OCD and Autism awareness has to be created also along with Dementia.

 

[kunjuppu]

i thought this was common with folks ageing. i have heard it being termed as மூளை கலங்கறது and was fairly common with folks over 70ish.

what is of concern, is that there is no extended family to support and take care of such folks in india. taking care involves a great deal of effort and money, and even if these folks have money, unless they have close relatives who can ensure proper care, these tend to get abused. my personal prayers are to die before i reach such stage.

same in the west, where there are so many childless couples reaching old age. there is however institutional support, but what is happening here, is that these people are robbed of their money and abused. old age without health, is a second but unwanted childhood.

 

[sangom]

I was told that dementia often gets associated with paranoia, in old age, and this is very difficult to manage. The exact causes for such combination are not known.

One probable factor is that in modern living many useful things are left out. One psychiatrist known to me once said that just reciting prayers or holy names with the fingers moving the beads of the rosary or japamaala will ensure that the brain decay is slowed down to a large extent. He said the religions incorporated it as a ritual to be practised right from an young age because it will be difficult to start after any brain condition sets in but easier to continue, if there is practice already. He jocularly said that it does not matter what you are repeating - can be the name of your favourite actor/actress!!

Perhaps many of our daily routines of olden days have some such wholesome idea/s underlying them. But we have all but discarded these in favour of modern medicine and knowledge. Now, if some western source patents any of these as their new found piece of knowledge, and some pseudo-guru starts charging for the practice of these simple routines, we fall for it, because it becomes the in-thing!!

 

[pannvalan]

In Psychology, 'dementia' means 'the organic deterioration of intelligence, memory and orientation, often in advancing age'.

In short, it is loss/malfunctioning of many mental faculties.

No permanent cure for this disorder is available as of now. But, further deterioration can be controlled, if detected and treated at the early stages.

In case of disorders like Alzheimer's disease or Schizophrenia, the causes could be many - Genetic, Neurological or psychological.

Plight of these patients will be so pathetic that they do not even know how to react when a speeding vehicle is coming towards them or a poisonous insect is seen near them.

Unfortunately, the world is not so kind to these patients and they are left uncared for in lunatic asylums, government hospitals, orphanages, on the streets or kept in total seclusion.

God, why are you so cruel to them?