Worried about your memory? Do you…
- find it hard to follow conversations or programmes on TV?
- forget the names of friends or everyday objects?
- notice that you repeat yourself or lose the thread of what you are saying?
- feel confused even when in a familiar environment?
- struggle to remember arrangements or appointments you recently made?
- notice that family members start to comment on your forgetfulness?
Memory problems are common, however they can also be an early sign of a medical condition known as dementia. You should seek help from your GP if you have persisting concerns that your memory is deteriorating and it impacts on your everyday abilities. All our staff are ‘dementia friendly’. There are around 800,000 people in the UK who have dementia. If you’re worried about someone else, you should encourage them to make an appointment and perhaps suggest that you go along too. The chance of developing dementia increases significantly with age. One in 14 people over 65 years of age, and one in six people over 80, has dementia. It is more common among women then men. Over 17,000 younger people (under the age of 65) in the UK have dementia. This is called early-onset or young-onset dementia.
Dementia occurs when the brain is affected by a disease. It’s not a normal part of ageing. Dementia affects everyone differently and can cause a wide range of symptoms. These can include problems with memory, thinking, concentration and language. People may become confused or struggle with how they perceive things. Dementia can also cause changes in mood or emotions and affect how someone behaves. Dementia is progressive, which means that symptoms get worse over time. However, many people with dementia lead active and fulfilling lives for many years.
There are many different types of dementia. The most common are Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia, which are sometimes combined (called mixed dementia). Less common are dementia with Lewy bodies and front-temporal dementia.
There are also some rarer conditions that cause dementia. Together, they account for only about five per cent of all people with dementia. Various factors increase the risk of someone developing dementia. Ageing, genes, health and lifestyle all play a part. Most people with dementia are over 65 years of age, but dementia does not also affect younger people.
Some people are diagnosed with a condition call mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The causes symptoms that are similar to dementia, but aren’t as serious. People with MCI have a higher risk of developing dementia, but not all of them will.
