New Research in Medicine: The Face of Dementia in 2011, Part Two
In our last New Research in Medicine blog, we discussed the newfound link between smoking and dementia, in the hopes of encouraging our readers to spurn the former to avoid the latter. In today’s installment, we address a significant problem among those who already have dementia: undiscovered illness among older dementia patients.
A recent study published in the journal Alzheimer’s Disease & Associated Disorders examined “265 community residing older adults with dementia” in “randomized clinical trials”. The results are disturbing: of those people, “[t]hirty-six percent … had clinical findings indicative of undetected illness”. Bacteriuria, hyperglycemia and anemia were three of the most prevalent diseases that went unnoticed. In spite of their illness, sixty-six percent of this group of people “resist[ed] or refus[ed] care”; this percentage is significantly larger here than among dementia patients without undetected illness (47%).
This information testifies to exactly how difficult detecting illnesses “of atypical presentation” in dementia patients is, even for trained health professionals. For those who know or look after an older person with dementia, if you observe anything resembling symptoms of an unexpected disease in this person, notify your health professional immediately. As guardians to these people, we owe it to them to give them the most comfortable, healthy lives as possible, and we have the power to grant that to them through proactive efforts on our part.
Speaking of proactive efforts, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention one of our own. On a much more positive note, Optimal Care, Inc., is participating in the upcoming 2011 Walk to End Alzheimer’s at the Detroit Zoo! The walk takes place at 8:30 on August 27, and we urge you to attend as well! Visit their homepage here, and register for a wonderful cause.
Work Cited:
Hodgson, Nancy, Laura Gitlin, Laraine Winter, and Kathleen Czekanski.
“Undiagnosed illness and Neuropsychiatric Behaviors in Community
Residing Older Adults With Dementia.” Alzheimer Disease & Associated
Disorders. 25.2 (2011): 109-115. Print.
