University of São Paulo study warns about rising cases of dementia

Neurodegenerative diseases are expected to increase in Brazil. These were the data compiled by the Global Burden of Disease survey , which also warns of a jump from 1.8 million to 5.6 million patients. There is still no cure for dementia and Alzheimer’s, but preventive measures and attention to the first signs of the disease are palliative. With advancing age, diseases may occur more frequently after age 70.

The aging of the global population draws attention to different scenarios of the disease in the world, since advanced age is associated with an increase in the tendency to develop it. This is due to the socioeconomic difficulties found in the poorest countries, places where neurodegenerative conditions can be aggravated.

Currently, about 50% of patients live in these countries, a number that tends to reach 72% in 2050. “Today, most people with dementia live in low- and middle-income countries”, adds the doctor and researcher at Faculty of Medicine at USP, Claudia Kimie Suemoto.

In Brazil
Based on research carried out by Laiss Bertola , which demonstrates the prevalence of dementia and cognitive impairment in a nationally diverse sample, it was possible to obtain a calculation for the country, which includes a cross-section of the Southeast region, the region with the highest number of residents. To this end, the study was used to specify numbers and data on diseases at the national level, relating risk factors, economic and racial issues.

A topic raised by Claudia draws attention to the impact of the 12 risk factors for dementia. Brazil has approximately 48% of cases related to factors such as hypertension and hearing loss in middle age, obesity, head trauma, alcohol abuse, smoking and depression, against 40% of cases diagnosed in the world are secondary to these 12 risk factors. risk.

With the research and the next National Report on Dementia commissioned by the Ministry of Health, it is possible to analyze whether Brazil will be prepared to accompany the increase in cases. For this, Claudia Suemoto points out that the necessary education is still lacking to inform the population of the risks of dementia and the first signs of the disease.

She also highlights the need to create a National Dementia Plan, which arises with the potential of the disease to become the main cause of disability and loss of cognition in the population: “Dementia will increasingly become a public health problem “, add her.

Prevention and palliatives
The data presented in Brazil and in the world appear as alerts for the disease that most advances with population aging. Here, the first precautions must be taken from an active lifestyle, with control of risk factors, such as hypertension, and being aware of the possible first signs of Alzheimer’s and dementia. These involve memory problems, communication and reasoning difficulties, disorientation in time.

Then, with the diagnosis of the disease, the care with which the diseases are communicated by the doctors is important. Claudia points out that, in addition to creating a lifestyle based on healthy habits, it is necessary to “improve the training of doctors and frontline people with patients and their families”, with the creation of campaigns that demystify stigmas about old age, cognitive decline and mortality.