'Be aware of dementia'

by Nilma DOLE

The need to raise awareness about dementia in the country is great due to the increasing elderly population. The percentage of the population over 60 years in Sri Lanka is expected to increase from 13 percent in 2010 to 21 percent in 2025, according to the Sri Lanka College of Psychiatrists. Dementia is the impairment of intellect, memory loss and inability to remember things. Often dementia is recognised when the sufferers lose their memory and sometimes blame family members for the loss of their belongings.

The tendency to suffer from this disease increases with old age.Speaking at a media briefing at the Mental Health Unit of the Kalubowila Hospital, President of the Psychiatrists College, Dr. Usha Gunawardena said that diagnosis and treatment of the disease are hampered by the social stigma attached to this condition. "Wrong assumptions made by the community towards mental illness prevents them from accurately determining mental illness from the patient's side".

Dementia should be treated promptly because the patient's death is inevitable within eight to 13 years from the time of diagnosis. The doctor said,"Ignorance, discrimination and negative attitudes can be detrimental to the well-being of a person with a psychiatric disorder". Even though some types of dementia are reversible, an irreversible condition known as Alzheimer's dementia is only treatable through drugs administered in the initial stages of the condition.