Report: 1 in 3 seniors dies with, not of, dementia

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By LAURAN NEERGAARD

WASHINGTON (AP) - A staggering 1 in 3 seniors dies with Alzheimer's disease or other types of dementia, says a new report that highlights the impact the mind-destroying disease is having on the rapidly aging population.

Dying with Alzheimer's is not the same as dying from it. But even when dementia isn't the direct cause of death, it can be the final blow - speeding someone's decline by interfering with their care for heart disease, cancer or other serious illnesses. That's the assessment of the report released Tuesday by the Alzheimer's Association, which advocates for more research and support for families afflicted by it.

"Exacerbated aging," is how Dr. Maria Carrillo, an association vice president, terms the Alzheimer's effect. "It changes any health care situation for a family."

In fact, only 30 percent of 70-year-olds who don't have Alzheimer's are expected to die before their 80th birthday. But if they do have dementia, 61 percent are expected to die, the report found.

FULL STORY AT LINK.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20130319/DA53U98O2.html

[FLyellowdog]

1. My sister's ex-husband just died from this last night.

He was only 66. Now they're both gone...she on February 27, he on March 17. The two adult kids are having a hard time but in each case it was a blessing in disguise.

[Delphinus]

21. I hear you,

about the blessing in disguise. It is still tough, though.

[Demeter]

2. Thanks for the post

You have helped this family, at least, understand what's going on.

[AndyTiedye]

3. And the Best Way to Avoid Dementia is…

lots of dancing.

http://socialdance.stanford.edu/syllabi/smarter.htm

[Javaman]

6. More people should Lindy Hop...

I love it.

That's my two cents.

[daleo]

8. Exercise in general may have a protective effect

I gave up my car ten plus years ago. It's inconvenient once in a while, but the health benefits are overwhelmingly positive.

[PasadenaTrudy]

15. An elderly friend

of mine walked across the country on a peace walk, walked for miles every day when she got back. Now in her mid-eighties, Alzheimer's. Her sister had it, now she has it. My mom had agoraphobia, never exercised, was sharp as a tack up until her death at 88. Genetics.

[daleo]

24. Exercise probably has some protective effect

But genetics is certainly of preponderant significance. That's the way it is for some things. Still, we do what we can.

[AndyTiedye]

20. Exercise is Good, and Dancing is Very Good Exercise, But there is More To It Than That

Dancing has far more benefit in this regard than an equivalent amount of other exercise.

I gave up my car ten plus years ago. It's inconvenient once in a while, but the health benefits are overwhelmingly positive.

While I do bicycle quite a bit, my wife does not. Giving up on cars altogether would require us to live in the city.
We find living out in the sticks a bit to be far less stressful, it allows us to grow some of our own veggies,
and mountain biking is far safer and more relaxing than riding on the streets with all the cars.

[daleo]

25. I live in a city

It's fairly central, but not particularly stressful, fortunately. It's about a half hour walk to work, and shops are pretty close too. I realize that not everyone can arrange things as my wife and I have. We are quite lucky.

[Coyotl]

12. Live in a non-industrial setting and enjoy a natural lifestyle, free of chemicals, pollutants, etc.

Avoid harmful poisons like gasoline, lead, mercury, aluminum, cadmium, chrome, solvents, .... processed foods ...

I'd like to see a study of where in the world the population suffers from Alzheimers, and where not.

[Igel]

22. Not useful.

Those who live to the appropriate age for dementia to kick in are fewer and farther between. They die of something else.

Moreover, diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer's (versus other diseases) varie.

And, finally, there's a cultural bias in cause of death. My own father kept my mother's Alzheimer's hidden until it was moderate simply by limiting her exposure to others--including her own sons--and by shadowing her whenever she went out. He was deeply ashamed of it, didn't understand it, and decided to keep it hidden. Perhaps it would just go away.

In the few interactions I had with her alone, she was surprised by how often my father just happened to be there when she got lost. Of course, she didn't know that he had to have a friend drive him back to retrieve his car. She resented his present there.

When the official diagnosis of Alzheimer's was given to him by her neurologist--he had no choice but to ask--he calmly accepted it. He repaired the pump on the pool. Patched some leaking plumping. Had the oil changed in the cars. Replaced all the batteries in clocks and smoke detectors, being sure to label the batteries with the replacement date.

Then, 8 days later, aftering mowing the grass, cleaning the pool, filling up the chlorine, distributing citrus from the backyard citrus trees to neighbors, when bedtime came he lay down in his garage and for the first and only time used the Glock he had bought.

I flew in the next evening to help finalize his burial arrangements. And found my mother whistling with glee that this strange man that had moved into her house, the house she'd been born in in 1927 even though it was built in 1996; the house that she grew up in and commuted 2500 miles each way in to go to her job ... had finally just killed himself, a favor to her. Boy, was she happy.

[dkf]

26. That's heartbreaking.

I'm so sorry.

[Hoyt]

27. Sorry, but thanks for posting/sharing.

[Yo_Mama]

28. I'm so sorry for your pain

And his.

Yes, dementia can be terrifying.

I have noticed that older people with dementia sometimes seem to react to stress by creating a different reality. Your mother might have been coping with loss with some degree of that.

[bucolic_frolic]

4. Alzheimer's and Dementia so much related to

sugar, diabetes, glucose intolerance, lack of circulation
and exercise, toxins, metals, and the wonderful western
diet that clogs arteries, leads to glucose intolerance.

Avoid it if you can!

[Andy Stanton]

5. I agree, but

I've known people who didn't have most of the issues you mentioned and still had dementia. I think we don't know all the factors that are involved.

[JudyM]

10. They may not have diabetes, per se, but mounting research shows brain glucose issues are endemic. nt

[In_The_Wind]

11. By the time you reach my age it's too late.

My mind is sharp but I have a problem with most of the things you've mentioned.

[Javaman]

7. My mom died from it.

It's a horrible disease. My mom, not just because she was my mom, was probably one of the smartest people I have and will ever have met in my life. She had a memory like an iron trap. She never forgot anything.

Then came Alzheimer's.

In the end, she couldn't recognize photos of herself.

It's a cruel cruel disease.

[daleo]

9. It surely is

Seen it up close a few times.

[Auntie Bush]

23. My Mother died from it too at the age of 92!

I was her caregiver for 5 years. It was tough! I showed her a picture of herself and she said, "That's not me...she has gray hair. Her hair had been gray for 40 years. Yes, it is a cruel, cruel disease!

[Trillo]

13. Seems like it might be nature's kindness.

If you're dying, why would you want to have a sharp mind? Seems like anything that might dull the senses at that point is a kindness bestowed, and anything that improves them, a kind of cruelty.

[enlightenment]

14. The problem with Alzheimers is

that it isn't consistent. The moments of clarity just bring home the awful state of someone's existence - and there are few things as painful as watching someone realize, if only for a moment, just how much of their mental faculties they have lost.

[Trillo]

16. Apples and oranges in regards to point of view. Yours is from the others' POV.

Mine was from the POV of the person who will soon die.

We have a system that collects A LOT of cash to offer pain killers and supportive care at the end of life, but is a pain killer as needed when the mind has lost mental faculties, nerves have degraded function, and is less able to perceive the reality of ones condition?

[enlightenment]

17. No, my response was most definitively from the POV

of the individual in decline. Have you seen an Alzheimers/dementia sufferer have the moments of clarity? I have - and it is devastating for THEM. Painful for the person watching, yes, because there is nothing to do for the sufferer.

As far as the rest of your post. Are you suggesting that palliative care be dependent on a person's ability to relate what they are feeling?

You are stretching to suggest that the ability to perceive pain is decreased to the degree that palliative care is not required at the end of life. Have their been reliable studies done on dementia patients to determine if they actually feel less pain - or simply are not able to adequately relate their degree of pain to an onlooker.

[Trillo]

18. "there are few things as painful as watching someone realize"=third person POV.

versus your, "response was most definitively from the POV of the individual in decline"

[enlightenment]

19. Yep - and try reading the first part of the

statement, too. Dragging a clause out does not an argument make.

Have a nice day.