In a new study researchers have revealed that partners of patients suffering from dementia or degeneration of memory and other mental faculties are six times more likely to develop the condition themselves.
Husbands are more at risk than wives. The study on 1,221 couples by the researchers from Utah State University in the U.S. showed that the stress and depression attached to seeing one’s partner in a degenerative condition could be a trigger. Environment and lifestyle could also play a role according to authors. The report was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
In the last 12 years there has been over 200 people over 65 years of age who developed dementia in northern Utah. There were 125 cases of dementia ‘only in the man’, 70 cases ‘only in the woman’ and 30 couples (60 men and women) where both developed dementia.
The authors reported that care-givers of these patients, often their spouses, suffered from increased stress and depression compared to spouses who supported a physically disabled partner. They wrote, “The chronic and often severe stress associated with dementia care giving may exert substantial risk for the development of dementia in spouse caregivers…Having a loved one with dementia is stressful regardless of age, but the burden for spouses may be even greater because of close emotional ties to their partner, their own medical comorbidity, greater risk for functional limitations, and greater likelihood of fatigue with physical exertion.”
Maria Norton of Utah State University who led the study said, “Future studies are needed to determine how much of this association is due to care-giver stress compared to a shared environment.”
Expert comment
Professor Clive Ballard, director of research at the Alzheimer's Society added, “Two people living the same lifestyle may be exposed to the same risk factors so it could be possible that spouses both develop dementia…However there has been limited research in this area and more is needed to determine which people are the most vulnerable…By keeping a healthy weight, getting regular exercise throughout your life and managing blood pressure and cholesterol from 35 onwards you can reduce your risk of developing dementia by up to 20 per cent.”
Rebecca Wood, Chief Executive of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust also said, “This is the first time that having a spouse with dementia has been suggested to increase dementia risk, so further research is required to verify the results.”
Dementia does not rob one of life
In yet another study by the Alzheimer’s Society the extent of damage of the quality of life of patients with dementia was explored. The study is called ‘My Name is Not Dementia’ and busts some common myths associated with the disease. Despite the common belief that patients with dementia are helpless and need round the clock supervision and help, the report says, “People with dementia often feel that it becomes the only thing others know about them. But they remain individuals in their own right and dementia is not the most important thing about them…Many are still able to do what they did before despite their life changing and some things becoming increasingly difficult to do. The ability to lead a fulfilled life doesn’t stop on diagnosis. A good quality of life can be maintained.”
According to author Terry Pratchett, “Dementia is undoubtedly a cruel and debilitating condition. However, a diagnosis does not strip a person of their identity….That person still has a voice and they deserve to be heard. Dementia requires not just care but also understanding. We have to learn to be good at it.” People with dementia can maintain relationships, remain healthy, retain their sense of humour and personal identity, and practice their hobbies, pastimes and religion.
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