Introduction To Dementia

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Introduction To Dementia

Categories: American, caregivers, Dementia, health, United States

By : Lamiaa Moustafa Elbosaty

Dementia is the seventh leading cause of all deaths in the United States and the fifth leading cause of death in Americans older than 65 years. Unfortunately, the main cause of dementia or the relationship to other brain abnormalities such as vascular disease and Lewy bodies is not known. There are also no good preventive or treatment strategies (Kuller & Lopez, 2008). Moreover, caring for a patient with dementia is more challenging than caring for a patient with physical disabilities alone. Peoples with dementia typically require more supervision, are less likely to express gratitude for the help they receive, and are more likely to be depressed. All of these factors have been linked to negative caregiver outcomes (Pinquart & Sorensen, 2007).

Caregiving has all the features of a chronic stress experiences; it creates physical and psychological strain over extended periods of time, is accompanied by high levels of unpredictability and uncontrollability, has the capacity to create secondary stress in multiple life domains such as work and family relationships, and frequently high levels of vigilance (Vitaliano, 2003).

Caring for a person with dementia can cause emotional, psychological and physical problems. In most cases of dementia, at least two individuals are affected; the person with condition and the caregiver. (Mannion, 2008).Carers are at high risk of mental health problems and that the comprehensive burden of caring has social, economic and health based elements. Dementia caregivers reported greater levels of physical burden and psychological distress than other caregivers (Kim & Schulz, 2008). Many problems can face the caregivers of people with dementia, which include the effective loss companionship and support of a life partner, social isolation and complex financial, legal and social decision-making. The burden of caring is financially, emotionally and physically significant (Thompson & Brigg, 2000).