What are Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia?
Dementia is a general term for conditions that cause loss of memory severe enough that they may impact a person’s ability to carry out his or her daily activities. Dementia is not a specific disease. It's an overall term that describes a group of symptoms. Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative brain disease and the most common cause of dementia.
What is Dementia?
Dementia is not a specific disease but is rather a general term for the impaired ability to remember, think, or make decisions that interferes with doing everyday activities. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia. Though dementia mostly affects older adults, it is not a part of normal aging.
How Common is Dementia?
Of those at least 65 years of age, there is an estimated nearly 7 million adults with dementia in 2024. By 2050, nearly 13 million Americans could be living with Alzheimer's, with costs reaching nearly $1 trillion.
In Virginia:
- 164,000 people aged 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s.
- 9.5% of people aged 45 and older have subjective cognitive decline.
- 342,000 family caregivers bear the burden of the disease.
- 662 million hours of unpaid care provided by Alzheimer’s caregivers.
- $12.5 billion is the value of the unpaid care.
- $1.2 billion is the cost of Alzheimer’s to the state Medicaid program.
These numbers show that a public health approach is necessary to lessen the burden and enhance the quality of life for those living with cognitive impairment and their families.
Isn’t Dementia a Normal Part of Aging?
No, many older adults live their entire lives without developing dementia. Normal aging may include weakening muscles and bones, stiffening of arteries and vessels, and some age-related memory changes that may show as:
- Occasionally misplacing car keys
- Struggling to find a word but remembering it later
- Forgetting the name of an acquaintance
- Forgetting the most recent events
- Normally, knowledge and experiences built over years, old memories, and language would stay intact.
Signs and Symptoms of Dementia
Because dementia is a general term, its symptoms can vary widely from person to person. People with dementia have problems with:
- Memory
- Attention
- Communication
- Reasoning, judgment, and problem solving
- Visual perception beyond typical age-related changes in vision
Signs That May Point to Dementia Include:
- Getting lost in a familiar neighborhood
- Using unusual words to refer to familiar objects
- Forgetting the name of a close family member or friend
- Forgetting old memories
- Not being able to complete tasks independently
Decrease Your Risk
Learn How to Have Better Brain Health and 8 Steps You Can Take for a Healthier Body and Brain and reduce your risk of dementia.
What increases the risk for dementia?
- Age
The strongest known risk factor for dementia is increasing age, with most cases affecting those of 65 years and older. - Family History
Those who have parents or siblings with dementia are more likely to develop dementia themselves. - Race/Ethnicity
Older African Americans are twice more likely to have dementia than whites. Hispanics 1.5 times more likely to have dementia than whites. - Poor Heart Health
High blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking increase the risk of dementia if not treated properly. - Traumatic Brain Injury
High blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking increase the risk of dementia if not treated properly.
Know Your Risk for Dementia
Take the Dementia Risk Quiz for Older Adults.
Learn more about reducing your risk of dementia
How is Dementia Diagnosed?
A healthcare provider can perform tests on attention, memory, problem solving and other cognitive abilities to see if there is cause for concern. A physical exam, blood tests, and brain scans, like a CT or MRI, can help rule out other health issues that may cause dementia, as well as determine if there may be a root cause.
How is Dementia Treated?
Treatment of dementia depends on the root cause and the whether the disease is getting worse.. There are prescription drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that temporarily ease some symptoms and others that can slow the progression of the disease. Medications don’t work for everyone, and they may lose effectiveness over time. Most FDA-approved drugs work best for people in the early or middle stages of dementia.
What Are the Most Common Types of Dementia?
Alzheimer’s Disease
This is the most common cause of dementia, accounting for 60 to 80 percent of cases. It is caused by specific changes in the brain. The trademark symptom is trouble remembering recent events, such as a conversation that occurred minutes or hours ago. Difficulty remembering more distant memories occurs later in the disease. Other changes like difficulty with walking, talking or personality changes come later. Family history is the most important risk factor. Having a close relative, like a parent or sibling, with Alzheimer’s disease increases the risk of developing it by 10 to 30 percent.
Vascular Dementia
About 10 percent of dementia cases are linked to strokes or other issues with blood flow to the brain. Diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol are also risk factors. Symptoms vary depending on the area and size of the brain impacted. The disease progresses in a step-wise fashion, meaning symptoms will suddenly get worse as the individual gets more strokes or mini-strokes.
Lewy Body Dementia
In addition to more typical symptoms like memory loss, people with this form of dementia may have movement or balance problems like stiffness or trembling. Many people also experience changes such as being sleepy during the day, confused or they may stare for long periods of time. Peoplemay also have trouble sleeping at night or they may experience visual hallucinations (seeing people, objects or shapes that are not actually there).
Fronto-temporal Dementia
This type of dementia most often leads to changes in personality and behavior because of the part of the brain it affects. People with this condition may behave inappropriately. For instance, a previously cautious person may make offensive comments or neglect responsibilities at home or work. There may also be problems with language skills like speaking or understanding.
Additional Resources
References:
Alzheimer’s Association. Public Health: Virginia State Overview.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Aging: About Dementia