Dementia rates are declining, New study says

Dementia is a dangerous syndrome that can severely hamper one’s life. What is worrying is that the condition has spread at an alarming rate throughout the world. Today, around 50 million people worldwide have dementia, and there are nearly 10 million new cases every year. Thus, a lot of awareness and understanding of the condition is still badly needed. 

Some of the common symptoms of dementia are now well known - deterioration in cognitive function - a severe effect of the disease on memory, thinking, orientation, comprehension, calculation, learning capacity, language, and judgment. However, we still need to understand the syndrome better as there are plenty of myths related to it. 

Today, we will look at some of the common myths surrounding dementia that need to be dispelled. Let’s separate fact from fiction.

1. Dementia is unavoidable with age

  

This is perhaps the most common myth associated with dementia. We generally tend to assume that dementia is inevitable with age. However, this isn’t true and dementia is not a normal part of aging. According to the latest report by the Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, affects 3% of people aged 65–74 years in the US. 

 

This means that the vast majority do not develop dementia in its most common form. However, this is not to say that dementia should be taken lightly. The point is that we shouldn’t just automatically accept that the condition cannot be avoided with age.

2. Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are the same thing

Now, this is a myth that really needs to be dispelled. While dementia and Alzheimer’s are very closely related, their names are not interchangeable. Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia that is responsible for almost 60–80% of all dementia cases. Also, not many people are aware that there are other forms of dementia, too - frontotemporal dementia (FTD), vascular dementia, mixed dementia, and Lewy body dementia, being a few of them. 

 

It is important to understand here that dementia is an overall term for a particular group of symptoms. The National Institute on Aging defines dementia as “the loss of cognitive functioning — thinking, remembering, and reasoning — and behavioral abilities to such an extent that it interferes with a person’s daily life and activities.” While dementias share some specific characteristics, each type has a separate fundamental pathology. 

 

3. Dementia is not fatal

Most people see dementia as a sad, tough, and depressing disease but not many of us consider it fatal. Unfortunately, the fact is that dementia can indeed be fatal. A recent study, published in JAMA Neurology, states that “approximately 13.6% of deaths were attributable to dementia over the period 2000–2009.” The authors, after examining 7,342 older adults, concluded that dementia had been significantly underreported as a cause of death, especially in cases where the syndrome should have been registered as the main cause.

4. Dementia affects only old people

Old age is, of course, a risk factor for dementia. However, it would be incorrect to be under the illusion that dementia affects only old people. Dementia does affect younger adults, too, albeit in rare cases. In fact, people as young as 30, have been identified with the condition.

A 2017 study published in the European Journal of Neurology found that between 38 and 260 people per 100,000 individuals experience the onset of dementia between 30 and 64 years of age. Furthermore, in the 55–64 age bracket, this increases to close to 420 people in 100,000. Health experts say that a lot of things that we do in our formative years can play a role in the development of dementia. Further research is needed in this regard. 

Some of the common types of dementia that affect younger adults are Alzheimer's disease, Vascular dementia, Frontotemporal dementia, and Korsakoff's syndrome.

 

5. Dementia is genetic

 Another common myth associated with dementia is that it is genetic. Many believe that if someone in the family has been diagnosed with dementia, the others are guaranteed to develop the condition later in life. This is false.

 

Some forms of dementia do have a genetic element but the majority of cases do not have a strong genetic link. Rather than genetic factors, the most important risk factor for dementia is age. 

 

6. Vitamins and supplements can prevent dementia

 

 

The thought of developing dementia can be a frightening prospect. To prevent or reduce the risk of the condition, many people also take vitamins or mineral supplements. However, there is no evidence to date that vitamins can prevent dementia. A 2018 review conducted by the Cochrane Library aimed to explore this question. The researchers took data from more than 83,000 participants across 28 included studies. 

 

The analysis states that: “We did not find evidence that any vitamin or mineral supplementation strategy for cognitively healthy adults in mid or late life has a meaningful effect on cognitive decline or dementia, although the evidence does not permit definitive conclusions.” 

 

7. Memory loss is always a sign of dementia

 

 

If you know someone who is experiencing memory loss issues, does that mean they have dementia? Not necessarily. While memory loss can be an early symptom of dementia it doesn’t always indicate the beginning of the condition. Memory issues are generally an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease but not for all forms of dementia. Some of the early signs and symptoms of frontotemporal dementia, for instance, are language difficulties, obsessive behavior, and changes in mood and personality. 

 

Also, remember that human memory is unpredictable. All of us tend to forget things from time to time. However, if you, or someone you know, are experiencing regular memory loss, it would be best to consult your doctor. 

 

8. Dementia marks the end of a fulfilling life

One of the biggest fears associated with dementia is that once you get it, you can’t lead a meaningful life. In fact, many assume that once they are diagnosed with dementia, they can’t even go out to walk alone. Health experts, however, say this isn’t true. 

 

"Too many people are in the dark about dementia — many feel that a dementia diagnosis means someone is immediately incapable of living a normal life, while myths and misunderstandings continue to contribute to the stigma and isolation that many people will feel,” explains Jeremy Hughes, former Chief Executive of the Alzheimer’s Society. 

 

Many dementia patients across the world are leading active and purposeful lives. Yes, dementia affects your way of life and you would have to make certain adjustments to it as the condition advances. However, in many cases, people with mild cases of dementia need not make any changes to their life at all. Even when the condition worsens, it doesn’t mean that a person cannot lead a satisfying life. All you will need is proper care and support.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.   

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14 Surprising Signs of Stress Harming Your Health

Living under constant stress is never good for you, but sometimes, the chronic stress you’re experiencing might emerge in surprising ways, slowly chipping away at your physical and emotional well-being. Unhealthy food habits, clenching jaw muscles at night, acne, irritability, and many other more serious health issues can all be a sign that you’re under too much stress, and it’s time to prioritize your health and dial down the stress in your life for a little while. Here 14 of such signs, some of which are guaranteed to surprise you.

1. Difficulty Remembering Things
Both short- and long-term stress can affect your cognitive capabilities, with memory being one of them. People who live under excessive stress often report having difficulty retrieving important information and even more issues with memorizing new things. Why this happens isn't certain, but it is suggested that the memory problems have both a psychological and a neurological cause.
On one hand, high cortisol (the stress hormone) levels in the brain were linked to short-term memory loss in seniors, so the hormone might be to blame. On the other hand, anxiety and depression, as well as sleep issues stressed people often experience likewise increase forgetfulness, so these, too, likely contribute to the issue. In any case, relaxing your body and mind may help you restore your true memory.  

2. Cravings for Junk Food
Stress eating is not a myth, it's a real phenomenon, one that's more dangerous than you'd think, too. When stress levels rise, the delicate hormonal balance can be upset, and often, the levels of hunger hormones are affected, too. This is why some people will not be able to eat while they're stressed, whereas others will tend to overeat and indulge in junk food.
The result - a terrible habit that contributes to weight gain and other health issues, as well as an emotional attachment to food.

3. Wrinkles and Gray Hairs
Increased hair and skin aging can be the result of chronic stress, and it's not only because we tend to do less self-care when we're stressed out. Studies have shown that high-stress levels decreased collagen production in the skin, and collagen is the building block of our skin cells and the substance that makes skin plump and youthful-looking.
As for gray hairs, the neurotransmitter called norepinephrine that's secreted during a stressful moment in the sympathetic nervous system seems to be to blame, as revealed in a recent study. As a result of the so-called fight or flight response to stress, norepinephrine drains the pigment from melanocyte cells in your hair, causing gray hairs.
Needless to say, stress is not the only cause of wrinkles and gray hairs, as is the case with many other signs on this list, but it is certainly one of the major factors contributing to these signs and symptoms.

4. You Catch the Cold and Flu More Often
Immune suppression is one of the most dangerous and least understood effects of stress on the human body. Several studies have shown that chronic stress affects the immune system, with one notable paper finding that people experiencing a lot of stress typically suffer 70% more respiratory infections and suffer from cold and flu symptoms for 61% longer than those who experience low levels of stress.
Some researchers believe that this is because people who suffer from stress are less sensitive to cortisol since they have higher levels of the hormone as a result of stress, and so their immune cells fail to activate when cortisol levels rise in response to an infection. Still, the precise mechanism is poorly understood, but you should definitely take extra care in protecting yourself from infections if you're under a lot of stress.

5. Rapid Heartbeat and Hypertension
A famous symptom of the fight or flight response is a rapid heartbeat, which is rather useful when your cortisol levels rise in response to a physical stimulus, like a rapidly approaching car when you're crossing the street, as it will help your muscles get more oxygen and will make running away from the dangerous situation easier.
Unfortunately, running away from most issues people face these days isn't a solution, but our bodies still react to emotional and work-related stress the same way, pumping up the heartbeat, and as a result, contributing to hypertension. Combine this with a stress eating habit, and you have a recipe for a cardiovascular disaster, so please watch your stress levels and diet to avoid heart issues and hypertension.

6. Difficulty Concentrating
Another cognitive symptom of stress is difficulty concentrating, or brain fog. While this symptom is often temporary, in some people, difficulty maintaining focus due to stress can significantly impair their work or school performance. These difficulties, in turn, can raise your stress levels even more and cause anxiety or depression, all of which are bound to further worsen your cognitive health.
If you're experiencing this symptom, try mental relaxation techniques, such as meditation, and try to maintain a healthy sleep schedule and activity levels to break the cycle.

  7. Changes in Libido
During times of intense stress, your libido, too, can and often does take a hit. This is because stress is a complex neuropsychological response that alters one's hormone levels and affects your emotional well being.
Stress, anxiety, and depression (the latter two can be caused by stress as well) can lower your sex hormone levels, with studies finding a correlation between low testosterone levels and stress, which can and probably does contribute to the sex drive impairment in both sexes. De-stressing and focusing on your emotional health is key to prevent and deal with these libido changes.

8. Shortness of Breath
Breathing problems, such as shortness of breath and even asthma are significantly more common among people who experience a lot of stress. These issues can also become worse if you're under stress, as your chest muscles and diaphragm can tighten in response to stress, making you breathe faster. As a result, this can cause anxiety, which fastens the breathing and heartbeat even further. In cases like these, it's important to make yourself breathe slowly and deeply to stop the vicious cycle.
Interestingly, in one study, researchers also found that women who were stressed out during pregnancy were a lot more likely to give birth to kids with asthma and other breathing difficulties, so stress can have very far-reaching health effects.

9. Fatigue and Sleep Issues
Chronic stress is among the main causes of insomnia, but trouble falling asleep is not the only sleep condition that can be caused by stress, as some people tend to be even more sleepy when they're stressed out. Irrespective of the condition, the majority of people experiencing sleep issues will also feel more tired throughout the day.
The causes of stress-related sleep issues are both hormonal and psychological, with high cortisol levels and the activation of the sympathetic nervous system (both hallmarks of the stress response) meddling with sleep hormone levels and one's ability to relax. Fatigue can also occur without sleep issues in people experiencing stress, as reported in a 2011 study.
This type of fatigue can become constant if stress persists, developing into a condition known as chronic fatigue syndrome.

10. Having Cold Sores Often
Skin rashes and the re-emergence of dormant conditions, such as the herpes virus or shingles is also common among people who experience stress or a traumatic event. As we mentioned earlier, stress can depress your immune system, and when your immunity is low, the different chronic conditions, including the herpes virus that's causing cold sores seize the chance to show themselves. If you happen to get cold sores more often than you used to, it can be a sign that you're under too much stress. 

11. Feeling Angry, Irritable, or Anxious
Emotional and psychological symptoms are hallmarks of chronic stress, with people who are under a lot of stress also suffering from anxiety or depression. When you're stressed out, you're also more likely to react harshly, be angry and more irritable than usual, likely because of other symptoms, such as tiredness and insomnia in particular, but also due to hormonal fluctuations in the brain.
When it comes to depression sufferers specifically, stress can increase the likelihood of getting a major depressive episode, as suggested in studies both in adolescents and adults, so make sure to compensate for stressful situations if you're suffering from depression.

12. Digestive Issues
We've written about the gut-brain axis many a time, which is essentially a tight link between your gut microbiome and the brain. When you're stressed out, the balance of microbes that live in your digestive tracts is upset, which manifests itself in bloating, diarrhea, constipation, and even heartburn. IBS, in particular, has been linked to stress. The fact that we often tend to eat fast food when we're stressed out doesn't help our digestive system either, of course.

13. Acne, Scalp Issues and Hair Loss
Chronic stress is practically synonymous with chronic inflammation because high cortisol levels have a very similar effect to an actual infection, as discussed above. These high levels of inflammation in the body combine with hormonal issues do often result in hormonal breakouts, which are more common among women, especially around their period. In addition, high cortisol levels also increase oil production in the pores, as suggested by the American Academy of Dermatology, which also causes acne. The same can also cause scalp issues, such as dandruff.

Hair loss can likewise be caused by stress. Traumatic life events can trigger temporary hair loss up to 3 months after the event itself. It was even observed that chronically stressed people, on average, have thinner hair than those with lower stress levels.

14. Clenching Your Teeth at Night
Do you often wake up with a tight or painful jaw in the morning? Many people with higher stress levels are known to suffer from bruxism - an often painful condition that occurs when you grind or clench your teeth. This condition can result in jaw pain, headaches, and even damaged teeth.
If you notice any signs of bruxism, it's necessary to discuss the issue with your dentist, as they can help you prevent tooth damage. Stress and anxiety management is the main preventative methods of bruxism.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     
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Orange juice, berries may prevent memory loss in men

Eating leafy greens, dark orange or red vegetables and berry fruits, and drinking orange juice may lower risk of memory loss over time, especially in men, a study has found.

The study, looked at 27,842 men with an average age of 51 who were all health professionals.

Participants filled out questionnaires about how many servings of fruits, vegetables and other foods they had each day at the beginning of the study and then every four years for 20 years.

A serving of fruit is considered one cup of fruit or half a cup of fruit juice. A serving of vegetables is considered one cup of raw vegetables or two cups of leafy greens.

"One of the most important factors in this study is that we were able to research and track such a large group of men over a 20-year period of time, allowing for very telling results," said a researcher.

"Our studies provide further evidence dietary choices can be important to maintain your brain health,"  he said .

Participants also took subjective tests of their thinking and memory skills at least four years before the end of the study, when they were an average age of 73.

The test is designed to detect changes that people can notice in how well they are remembering things before those changes would be detected by objective cognitive tests.

Changes in memory reported by the participants would be considered precursors to mild cognitive impairment.

A total of 55 per cent of the participants had good thinking and memory skills, 38 per cent had moderate skills, and seven per cent had poor thinking and memory skills.

The participants were divided into five groups based on their fruit and vegetable consumption. For vegetables, the highest group ate about six servings per day, compared to about two servings for the lowest group.

For fruits, the top group ate about three servings per day, compared to half a serving for the bottom group.

The men who consumed the most vegetables were 34 per cent less likely to develop poor thinking skills than the men who consumed the least amount of vegetables.

A total of 6.6 per cent of men in the top group developed poor cognitive function, compared to 7.9 per cent of men in the bottom group.

The men who drank orange juice every day were 47 per cent less likely to develop poor thinking skills than the men who drank less than one serving per month.

This association was mainly observed for regular consumption of orange juice among the oldest men, researchers said.

A total of 6.9 per cent of men who drank orange juice every day developed poor cognitive function, compared to 8.4 per cent of men who drank orange juice less than once a month.

The researchers also found that people who ate larger amounts of fruits and vegetables 20 years earlier were less likely to develop thinking and memory problems, whether or not they kept eating larger amounts of fruits and vegetables about six years before the memory test.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/                                                                                                                                                                             FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                                                             https:// kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com/                                                                                       FOR CROCHET DESIGNS                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com