Taking Care of Your Brain Health: Preventing Alzheimer’s and Dementia in an Aging Society

2023-11-01 09:24:00

Evolution and advancement of medical technology As people pay more attention and care to taking care of themselves. Plus health trends That is being talked about a lot nowadays is Preventative health care or Self-Care rather than disease treatment All of which results in people living longer.

Keypoint:

When you get older Our bodies gradually deteriorates with age including brain health In the elderly group, it is often found that people with dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, ‘Alzheimer’ are not just a symptom of forgetfulness, but will also have problems doing basic daily activities. Behavior has changed from before. And some people have more violent emotions, so you should check the warning signs of the disease. Alzheimer’s prevention You need to take care of your brain health from a young age. Avoid risky behavior, stop smoking, reduce and stop drinking alcohol, exercise, think positively, get enough sleep, and check your ears. If your ears have problems, you may be at risk of disease.

In 2023, Thai society enters a completely aging society. With a large number of people over the age of 60, nearly 20% of the total population. and interesting That is, the number of elderly people aged 100 years and over has increased by thousands.

Information from the Department of Elderly Affairs It was stated that at the end of 2022, there were 12,698,362 elderly people aged 60 years and over, or 19.21% of the total population of 66,090,475 people. And among these more than 12 million elderly people, there were 5,622,074 men and 7,076,288 women, by the largest group. About half are in the 60-69 age group.

In addition, the demographic data of the Department of Provincial Administration In March 2023, it was found that there was an increase in the number of elderly people aged 100 years and over, with a total of 36,986 people, including 18,456 men and 18,530 women.

Related news:

Check out the 10 warning signs of ‘Alzheimer’s’ on ‘World Alzheimer’s Day’.

Why? ‘Light’ affects sleep, restores health, and can care for dementia patients.

Take care of brain health Reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s

Dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, takes 15 – 20 years to develop before symptoms appear clearly. Previously, it was found that people aged 65 and over have a 10% chance of developing Alzheimer’s dementia, while people aged 85 and over have a 40 – 50% chance of developing Alzheimer’s dementia.

Studies have shown that dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, will begin to have early symptoms. It is the first memory decline from the age of 50 years and above, which is difficult to diagnose. from memory decline with age From memory decline that is the beginning of Alzheimer’s dementia.

In addition, statistics of people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease around the world reach almost 50 million people, and in Thailand it is expected that there will be a significant increase in Alzheimer’s disease patients during the next 10 years. page

Prof. Dr. Kongkiat Kuntakantharakorn Specialist in brain and nervous system medicine Bangkok Hospital spoke on the topic: How to Improve Brain Health and Dementia Prevention at the 2023 annual academic conference under the name BDMS ACADEMIC ANNUAL MEETING 2023 in the concept of A Road to Lifelong Well-Being by Bangkok Dusit Medical Services Company Limited ( Public Company Limited or BDMS regarding people’s lives being longer. The average lifespan is up to 80 years.

What needs to happen is taking care of the brain health of the elderly. Because now There is a proportion of elderly people with dementia. There are many cases of cerebrovascular disease (stroke) and Alzheimer’s. Taking good care of your brain’s health must start from childhood.

Risk factors that cause dementia

Global Dementia Observatory from the World Health Organization or WHO Alzheimer’s disease Or dementia has become one of the top 10 causes of death for people worldwide. And while it is likely to go up even more Preparing to deal with this disease condition in many ways The country is the opposite.

The World Health Organization estimates that The currently estimated 55 million people with dementia will surge to 78 million within the next nine years (2030) and increase to 139 million by 2020. 2050, and this figure estimates the global cost of fighting dementia will soar to $2.8 trillion in 2017. 2030 (currently estimated to cost $1.3 trillion)

“Alzheimer’s disease It is a disease that occurs among the elderly. And most of them were born before they could be treated. Because in order to take good care of your brain health Starting from childhood And some patients feel that they are not normal. When the brain condition is examined, it is considered to be in good condition. But that might be a starting point. Because the next time the brain is examined, the numbers decrease. The symptoms must be monitored constantly,” Prof. Dr. Kongkiat said.

This is a risk factor that causes Alzheimer’s disease. are as follows

Elderly people, people with a family history of brain disease, and people with genes that are at high risk. People with underlying diseases that may lead to stroke, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and lifestyle behaviors such as smoking, head injuries. drinking alcohol not exercising Have mental health problems

Warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease

Prof. Dr. Kongkiat further said that dementia or Alzheimer’s complicated If it’s about jeans Probably cannot be fixed. But if it is a lifestyle behavior reduce smoking Reduce alcohol consumption And if knowledge and understanding are created about this disease It will help reduce the number of Alzheimer’s patients.

“If you don’t want to have dementia. must understand and provide knowledge about the collection of brain abilities which the intelligence of people can be separated into chunks There will be knowledge that we can use immediately, such as language or memory. that when age has passed, how much Still able to remember, speak, or calculate and make decisions still do well. It doesn’t decrease by the day. It shows that the brain is still working well. But if these abilities are reduced There will be a risk of Alzheimer’s disease. can cause dementia,” Prof. Dr. Kongkiat said.

for Alzheimer’s symptoms Will be divided into 3 phases:

1.First stage

Asking the same questions over and over, confused about directions, hesitant, unable to make simple decisions, mood swings, stressed, and depressed.

2. Medium term

Memory worsens from before Having trouble doing basic daily activities Walking out of the house without a destination There has been a huge change in behavior, for example from a calm person to a hot-tempered person.

3.Last stage

Doesn’t respond well to surroundings The body is deteriorating. The brain began to deteriorate widely. Can’t help myself Eat less food Less movement or no movement at all

Collecting good brain health from childhood

Prof. Dr. Kongkiat further said that collecting brain capacity Makes our brain healthy Must start from a young age Because there are studies abroad By having middle-aged people aged 35-64 years, one group do activities such as walking, exercising, not smoking, and another group lead a normal life. Both groups had diabetes. High blood pressure and obesity found that the risks were not different. But a group of people who live normal lives Didn’t do any activities The risk increases by 10%.

At the same time, the problem of the ears The elderly’s hearing is not good. Makes it impossible to receive knowledge or able to communicate with other people, this is a big deal and is an important risk factor Can cause Alzheimer’s disease.

Including sleep if your sleep health is not good. Sleep without rust, sleep and dream, sleep apnea Or sleeping less than 6 hours and sleeping more than 9 hours will increase your risk of developing Alzheimer’s.

As for vitamin intake, it was found that the overall picture of people taking vitamins included vitamin B complex, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin C, vitamin E, omega 3, folate, and others that help nourish the brain. or prevent dementia In fact It may only help to a certain extent. Because I really want to study. Most are at par with what the body already has. There may only be some vitamins, such as omega 3, vitamin E, or vitamin B complex that can help. As for the antioxidant vitamin group, Most will be the same as what we already have.

Changing behavior reduces the risk of ‘Alzheimer’s’

Think positively, look optimistic, have a sense of humor, don’t stress, eat nutritious food that helps nourish the brain. Get enough sleep, 7 – 8 hours a day, and should go to bed at 10 p.m., not later than midnight. Exercise regularly Because it helps keep the brain healthy. Avoid alcohol, smoking, and not drinking coffee in the evening as it can disturb sleep.

However, if you have a good quality of life have a good education Have a good family, a good career, a good lifestyle, a good ear, a good mood, a good society, and good sleep. It will help improve brain health.

1698852817
#Bad #ears #sleep #risk #Alzheimers #disease #forgetfulness

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.