: Mary Jordan, Jerry Thompson
: Dodging Dementia: Understanding MCI and other risk factors 2nd Edition of The Essential Guide to Avoiding Dementia
: Hammersmith Health Books
: 9781781612439
: 1
: CHF 19.50
:
: Ernährung
: English
: 312
: Wasserzeichen
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: ePUB
If you have concerns about you or a loved one developing dementia, Mary Jordan guides you through how to assess your personal risk and the many things you can do to mitigate that risk based on the latest evidence. Whether you have a close relative with dementia, a history of high-risk factors for this condition, or a diagnosis of MCI (mild cognitive impairment) you may be concerned to know how personally 'at risk' you or a loved one is, and what you can do to 'dodge' what is definitely not inevitable. In this second edition of her highly regarded Essential Guide to Avoiding Dementia, Mary Jordan guides readers through the many factors associated with developing dementia and the science behind our current understanding, including: diet, exercise, trauma, pharmaceuticals (contributed by Dr Jerry Thompson), genetics, social isolation, sleep, neurological deficits such as hearing loss, insulin resistance and diabetes type 2. Based on her professional and personal experience, Mary offers a programme from which the individual reader can choose what works for them and their individual risks and circumstances with the emphasis on what is practically rather than theoretically possible.

Mary Jordan is a director and founder of Adapt Dementia Ltd formed to help people find a better way to live with dementia. She has specific first-hand experience of dementia through her work for Alzheimer's Society, a UK dementia charity. She also has many years of experience working for the National Health Service and in the field of medical publishing. Mary qualified to deliver the Alzheimer's Society CrisP programme which specifically caters for family carers and is QCF assessor in vocational achievement for Dementia. Mary's ability to use her first-hand experience to illuminate points in the training make her an inspirational and motivating trainer. Her specialist area is delivering Cognitive Stimulation Therapy to those in early stage dementia. Mary is also known for her books The Essential Carer's Guide, The Essential Carer's Guide to Dementia and Coping with Mild Cognitive Impairment as well as The 'D' Word co-authored with Psychiatrist Dr Noel Collins. Mary co-authored the award-winning: End of Life, The Essential Guide to Caring with Judy Carole
  • The brain changes with age but dementia is not a natural result of ageing.
  • Variety in life, in social contacts and in leisure pursuits all seem to be significant protective factors.
  • Level of education seems to have some bearing on risk of developing dementia.
  • Brain plasticity and cognitive reserve may also influence risk.

This chapter looks at some very basic factors that research indicates may be associated with an increased risk of dementia. The first of these is age. We hear so often that cases of dementia are increasing because we are living longer, but is this really the case?

Age and dementia


Whilst there are some quite striking examples of younger people developing dementia (particularly ‘familial’ dementia, which is examined on page124), the most prominent ‘risk factor’ for developing the condition is indeed age. Dementia is a disease of older people. However, it is not an inevitable result of ageing. Many older people have excellent cognition, even taking into account the natural slowing down of life in general as we get older.

A person’s risk of developing dementia rises from one in 14 over the age of 65, to one in six over the age of 80. That is, one in 14 people over the age of 65 have dementia.1 Also, that five in six people over the age of 80 do not. What makes the difference between those who do have dementia symptoms and those who don’t? Let’s examine some of the factors that seem to play a part alongside age. Strikingly, research shows that personality and social factors are significant in this respect.

Personality, social factors and dementia


The Nun Study


David Snowdon, a US-based neurologist, has studied ageing and dementia in a population of 678 nuns. ‘The Nun study’, as it is known, is a most useful source for researchers because it is a longitudinal study (that’s a study that follows a group over a long period of time) of ageing and Alzheimer’s disease, which began in 1986 as a pilot study on ageing and disability. It started out using data collected from the older School Sisters of Notre Dame living in Mankato, Minnesota, but later expanded to include older Notre Dame Sisters living in the midwestern, eastern and southern regions of the United States. Participants in the Nun Study include women representing a wide range of functioning and health. Some Sisters are in their 90s; others may be in their 70s. Some are highly functional, with full-time jobs; others are severely disabled, unable to communicate, possibly even bed-bound.

Each of the 678 participants in the Nun Study agreed to participate in annual assessments of their cognitive and physical function. The assessments have included medical examinations and giving blood samples, and many of the nuns agreed to donate their brains after death for research. This means that the Nun Study represents the largest brain-donor population in the world. In addition, the Sisters have given investigators full access to their convent and medical records.

The study has found that traits in early, mid an