Dementia - When the mind fades away

As per the estimates of the World Health Organization, the number of aging population is increasing in countries like India and dementia is going to become an epidemic among the elderly in the coming decades. Although so far, I have not known anyone personally who is or has suffered from dementia, I am aware of people in my circle of friends who have. Since dementia is generally speaking, largely seen among senior citizens and there are in my immediate and extended family (and I myself am crawling in that direction too), I though to educating myself on the subject a bit and recently did an online course on dementia.

The course with videos of patients and care givers themselves describing their slow and steady downward sided into the disease with some of those videoed showing fairly advanced symptoms and the care givers describing the stress and strain of providing care in a context that can last for several years left me quite disturbed. Looking up the recent statistics, I find that over four million Indians above 60 have the condition, which is around 3.7 percent of that population. Approximately, one out of every 16 households with an elder has someone with dementia. Yet as I look around and ask around dementia remains a neglected area in healthcare, and many families do not seek or get suitable diagnosis or treatment for dementia symptoms. Poor awareness about dementia means that elders who experience problems like forgetfulness, confusion, or difficulty doing tasks do not consult doctors. 

India also struggles with cultural obstacles to improving care for those suffering from dementia. Institutional treatment is considered a taboo in India, as children do not want to be seen as abandoning their aging parents. Many even want to conceal the fact that their parents are suffering from dementia, at times preventing the patients — and the families — from getting the care they need. Myths, superstitions and misconceptions thrive and abound and erect further barriers in addition to the ones already existing due to inadequate public health infrastructure and largely unaffordable private mechanisms of care. The course that I did left me disturbed for one particular reason. The course was designed in the UK where through the NHS and existing support groups, there exists a reasonable structure of care and even there the care givers as they gave their interviews appeared fatigued and worn out and at least one spoke of having to give up their career because the full care giving routine, would not allow for a regular job. I do not what it is like for Indian care givers with far less support and a lot of stigma and what they go through. Clearly Dementia is a condition which is probably more a social problem as much as a medical one and needs attention from that lens.