It is usual for anyone sometimes to forget their keys at home, need help remembering minor details, or do basic things. These are part of the daily realities of living that become increasingly common as a person ages. When such realities become so significant as to affect our ability to survive on our own, it is often a sign of something worse… like dementia, for instance.
Dementia is a progressive condition that affects a person's ability to think, reason, and remember. It is a leading cause of disability and dependency among older adults, and the number of people affected is expected to rise significantly in the coming years.
More than 50 million people are estimated to have dementia worldwide in 2019. The number is set to almost triple by 2030. Although dementia is seen as a disease of people in Western countries, 60% of people with dementia are in poor countries in Africa and Asia.
Despite the youthful African population, more elderly people are expected to develop dementia, with Nigeria being one of the most affected countries on the continent. Knowing about the disease can encourage you to tackle the common risk factors of the disease.
Modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors of dementia
Your risk of having dementia depends on the factors you can control and the ones you cannot control. Some factors, like old age and the genes you inherit, are beyond your control, so they are ‘non-modifiable.’
On the other hand, there are factors you can control as an individual or with government policies that can help reduce your risk of developing dementia. These factors are ‘modifiable,’ and a 2024 global report shows that controlling these factors can prevent 45% of dementia cases.
The modifiable risk factors include:
- Social isolation
- Poor education
- Air pollution
- Unresolved hearing loss
- Depression
- Brain injury
- Hypertension
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Low level of physical activity
- Excessive alcohol intake
- Smoking
- Uncontrolled vision loss
- High serum cholesterol
Controlling these factors requires personal effort combined with government policies and intervention.
Reversible and irreversible causes of dementia
Dementia is often a consequence of advanced age. However, it may also be caused by some reversible and irreversible factors.
Reversible causes of dementia produce short-lived impairment in memory and thinking, which resolve as soon as the cause is treated or removed. Such reversible causes include:
- Severe head injury
- Multiple strokes
- HIV
- Neurosyphilis
- Meningitis
- Alcohol
- Heavy metal poisoning
- Brain tumors
- Multiple sclerosis
- Liver and kidney failure
- Low or high thyroid function
Irreversible causes of dementia are neurodegenerative disorders or diseases that occur as the brain loses its neurons. They include:
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Parkinson’s disease
- Prion’s disease
