1m dementia patients in Pakistan, say experts

LAHORE :The World Alzheimer’s Day, an international campaign to raise awareness and challenge the stigma, was commemorated around the world, including Pakistan, on Thursday under this year’s theme of ‘Remember Me’ aiming to highlight the importance of early detection and diagnosis of dementia.

It’s about remembering those affected by dementia, including many others who may be worried about developing dementia. Dementia is not a normal part of aging, it is the collective name for progressive, degenerative brain syndromes that affect memory, thinking, behaviour and emotion. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type, responsible for 50 to 60 percent cases of dementia.

Symptoms include loss of memory, difficulties performing routine tasks and personality or mood changes. Alzheimer’s Pakistan called for urgent response to dementia on World Alzheimer’s Day, which supported the cause by encouraging the public to learn to recognise early warning signs. 

According to global statistics, every three seconds one person in the world develops dementia but most people with dementia do not receive a diagnosis or support. Governments must develop their own national dementia plans. Dementia will become a trillion-dollar disease in 2018 and it can start to develop in the brain as far as 20 years before onset.

Addressing a press conference on World Alzheimer’s Day, Dr Yasmin Rashid, patron of Alzheimer’s Pakistan, said that dementia was one of the most significant global health and social crises in the 21st century, yet too often diagnosis was made late.

Early diagnosis is important to live well for longer and to make important decisions with families and loved ones. As few as one in 10 individuals receives a diagnosis for dementia in low and middle-income countries.

Dementia affects 50 million people worldwide and this number will treble by 2050. In Pakistan, it is estimated that there are around one million dementia patients, the big majority of which is undiagnosed. 

Zia Rizvi, president of Alzheimer’s Pakistan, said prevention and earlier diagnosis of dementia could save governments' money, by reducing the high cost of emergency and avoidable health interventions, improving care, and by increasing the effectiveness of social, community and other care services. 

Dr Hussain Jafri, secretary general of Alzheimer’s Pakistan, said that it was responsibility of the government to dramatically increase awareness, detection and diagnosis of dementia by meeting targets of the World Health Organisation (WHO) global plan on dementia, to which Pakistan is also a signatory.

He said that it was important that the public learned how to recognise the symptoms of dementia. Learning about dementia can also challenge the stigma and misinformation that surrounds the disease.

The government has a responsibility to raise awareness for dementia and support prevention strategies. Alzheimer’s Pakistan is organising a range of awareness activities all around the country in September to commemorate World Alzheimer’s Month so that people take action by learning the early warning signs of dementia and seek support where available.