Now, even 45-yr-olds get dementia!

Hyderabad: With changing times, lifestyle diseases are on the rise. What was once considered a disorder of the elderly, dementia cases are on the rise in the country with people in the age group, 45-70 years being the prime victims.

The information came to light at an awareness session organised by Red Cross here on Thursday in which, an expert on dementia, Dr Radha S Murthy spoke about the prevalence of the disease and its symptoms.

“Not all are aware about the disease. Dementia is a group of conditions characterised by the impairment of at least two brain functions,” said Dr Murthy. “The people affected with dementia have memory loss and there is a 30 per cent rise in dementia cases registered in the country this year alone,” she said.

Explaining about the types of the diseases, she said, “These include Vascular, mixed, frontotemporal and various other types.” She said that this disease cannot be cured and is mostly found in the age group of 70 years but, in the recent past it has come to light that people at the ages 45-50 years are also being affected.

Elaborating on the symptoms of the disease, the doctor said that dementia starts with memory loss, suspicious mind, anxiety and other related problems of the brain. She said that in past one year there are five cases of dementia at the age of 50 years reported at ‘Nightingales Trust Comprehensive Models of Dementia Care’.