Slowing Dementia in Old Age
Created By RISC | 3 years ago
Last modified date : 2 years ago
UN expects 2001-2100 to be the century of aging, with people of 60+ making up over 10% of the world population.
Thailand has been an aging society since 2005, with 10.4% of its population aged 60 years and over, according to the National Statistical Office. The country is set to become an aged society in 2024-25. The World Bank expects Thailand to become super-aged society in 2040, with 17 million people aged 65+ making up 25% of its population.
How do we define these terms?
1. In an aging society, 10% of the population is 60+ or 7% is 65+.
2. In an aged society, 20% of the population is 60+ or 14% is 65+.
3. In a super-aged society, 20% of the population is 65+.
Medical technology now addresses conditions earlier with prevention and also provides better guidelines for care. But people are living longer so run the risk of dementia. WHO estimates that 55 million people worldwide have dementia already and forecasts 78 million in 2030 and 139 million in 2050.
A healthy brain is 20% related to genes and 80% to behavior and environment. Our activities and surroundings can assist by...
- Stress reduction: Even in the womb stress affects every aspect of growth including the brain.
- Childhood development: Diversified learning helps brains grow well so they can cope better with aging.
- Exercise: Each year of exercise can add 2 cubic millimeters of brain cells in the hippocampus, boosting memory.
- Meditation: Meditating defends us from stress, helps us stay calm, and also increases the frontal lobe and hippocampus.
- Living with Nature: Nature reduces stress and boosts brain function when we spend time in open spaces such as lawns or gardens with plants providing 40-60% shade. Natural water adds even further to the benefits.
Where you live can also slow dementia. A study tracked 2 million Canadians aged 20-85 in Ontario from 2001 to 2012. Those living near heavy traffic were at greater risk of developing dementia. Those who lived within 50 meters of heavy traffic area were 7% more likely to develop dementia than who lived more than 300 meters away.
We can all adjust our environment and habits for enduring brain health.
Story by: Dr. Sarigga Pongsuwan, Vice President of RISC
Reference:
- Roberto Cabeza, Marilyn Albert, Sylvie Belleville, Fergus I. M. Craik, Audrey Duarte, Cheryl L. Grady, Ulman Lindenberger, Lars Nyberg, Denise C. Park, Patricia A. Reuter-Lorenz, Michael D. Rugg, Jason Steffener & M. Natasha Rajah. Maintenance, reserve and compensation: the cognitive neuroscience of healthy ageing. 2018
- Sonia J. Lupien, Bruce S. McEwen, Megan R. Gunnar & Christine Heim. Effects of stress throughout the lifespan on the brain, behavior and cognition. 2009.
- Kirk I. Erickson, Michelle W. Voss, Ruchika Shaurya Prakash, and Arthur F. Kramer. Exercise training increases size of hippocampus and improves memory. 2011.
- Marc G. Berman, John Jonides, Stephen Kaplan. The Cognitive Benefits of Interacting With Nature. 2008.
- Eileen Luders,1 Arthur W. Toga,1,* Natasha Lepore,1 and Christian Gaser2. The underlying anatomical correlates of long-term meditation: Larger hippocampal and frontal volumes of gray matter. 2009.
- https://www.pptvhd36.com/