Dementia
- What it is
Dementia describes a group of symptoms such as memory loss, impaired judgment, confusion and behavioural changes, which are severe enough to cause loss of function.
Dementia is not part of normal aging, though the elderly are more prone. Dementia occurs when the brain function gradually fails, affecting day-to-day activities.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia, followed by vascular dementia. It affects mainly elderly people. In Singapore, the prevalence rate of dementia in people above 65 years is 6.2%. It is an illness that causes significant distress to both the patient and his caregivers.
