Emphasizing the importance of 18-24 March Respect for the Elderly Week, and drawing attention to dementia, Neurology Specialist from Istanbul Okan University Hospital, Uzm. Dr. Özlem Çakır said, “Aging is a natural process of life.

However, with advancing age, important health problems and loss of function may occur. Unfortunately, one of these diseases is dementia,” he said.

Aging is not only a biological process, but a process that is affected by social, cultural and psychological reasons. Although the phenomenon of aging is more prominent in developed countries, the elderly population is gradually increasing in developing countries. Population aging affects every aspect of society socially and culturally. It is predicted that twenty percent of the world’s population will be composed of individuals over the age of 65, and that the young and old population will be equal. It is known as “18-24 March Respect Week for the Elderly” in order to raise awareness about the rapid increase in the elderly population and elderly health issues.

What is Dementia?

dementia; It is a condition where functions such as learning, speaking and thinking are impaired. Dementia greatly affects a person’s social life. Dementia is an insidious disease. In the first phase, forgetfulness may begin towards the near future. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia.

“Dementia is a progressive and fatal disease”

Emphasizing the importance of dementia, Dr. Dr. Çakır said, “As people age, an increase in the number of diseases they encounter is observed. One of these diseases is Dementia. dementia; It is a progressive and fatal disease. Disturbances in memory and forgetfulness, regression in activities of daily living, various psychiatric symptoms and behavioral disorders can be seen.

We can list the symptoms that occur in the first stage as follows:

Difficulty forming words
repeating the words used
Don’t forget planned days and plans
Difficulty remembering paths

In later stages, increases in forgetfulness can be observed. The individual may exhibit unhappy behaviors in his life, become withdrawn and decrease in communication.

Is it possible to prevent dementia?

Neurology Specialist Dr. Dr. Özlem Çakır made recommendations to prevent dementia:

Activities to keep the mind active such as reading, sudoku, card games, chess, puzzles, word games should be done,
Eating healthy, sleeping well and getting plenty of sun exposure,
Food and vitamin supplements should be taken,
doing sports and exercise,
Being social, chatting

“Loneliness increases dementia”

exp. Dr. Çakır said, “Research on this subject, we can say that loneliness negatively affects brain cells. Loneliness negatively affects memory and perception, making room for dementia and allowing this disease to occur. Being alone, not doing any activity, not sharing, not speaking negatively affects and disrupts the communication between nerve cells. Activities such as socializing, chatting and being in life reduce the risk of disease. It is observed that the incidence of dementia is higher in people who are alone.”

In addition, emphasizing the importance of the week, Dr. Dr. Çakır said, “To summarize the purpose of Respect for the Elderly Week, it would be to underline that our elders need the respect and love to be shown by young people during these difficult periods of their lives. At this point, in order to prevent dementia, it is becoming increasingly important to age in a healthy way and to keep the elderly population active in life.”

We congratulate all our elders on the week of respect for the elderly and hope that peace, happiness and health will not be missing from their lives.

Source: (BYZHA) – Beyaz News Agency