Canada must act now to stave off future wave of dementia: R…

(MENAFN – The Conversation)

There’s a lot of sobering news for Canadians in the new Alzheimer’s Society of Canada study. The recently released first volume of Navigating the Path Forward for Dementia in Canada: The Landmark Study predicts a significant increase in the number of Canadians living with dementia over the next three decades.

Among the results of the study:

• It is projected that more than 1 million Canadians will be living with dementia by the end of 2030, with the number expected to rise to 1.7 million by 2050.
• In 2020, 8.4 percent of Canadians over the age of 65 had some form of dementia. By 2050, when the baby boomer generation will be over 85, the percentage of Canadians over 65 living with dementia is expected to rise to 13.2 percent.
• On average, care partners, such as family and friends of people with dementia, provide 26 hours of care per week. If current trends continue, the number of hours worked by family and friends could reach almost 1.4 billion hours annually by 2050. This corresponds to over 690,000 full-time jobs.

The numbers illustrate the potential for significant healthcare system challenges, and Canadians should rightly take them as a wake-up call. But the study also offers a glimpse of a more hopeful future by showing several scenarios in which the number of potential dementia cases across Canada can be reduced by addressing the risk factors associated with the condition.

Delaying the onset of dementia by just one year would mean 500,000 fewer cases of dementia in Canada by 2050. The impact of this decline on both the number of people living with dementia and those who care for them would be profound.

recommendations for action
Care partners, such as family and friends of people with dementia, provide an average of 26 hours of care per week. (Shutterstock)

The report provides several recommendations for governments at all levels to support those living with the disease and their caregivers. In 2019, for example, the federal government passed a national dementia strategy that included key fields of action – in particular a public health approach to risk reduction. As yet, this strategy has not been fully calculated or adequately funded.

Similarly, the strategy aims to fund chronically underfunded dementia research with at least one percent of total dementia care. This has still not been implemented, despite the report’s calls for immediate action.

Another problem is that GPs are the first point of contact for people with dementia and their care partners. However, they have few resources to provide adequate care and do not have a clear path through a complex healthcare system. The new report calls for more training for GPs to diagnose dementia symptoms in a timely manner and for an improved fee structure that prioritizes time spent with people with dementia and their care partners.

Changeable Factors
Activities that stimulate the brain and promote lifelong learning include reading, playing games or speaking a second language. (Shutterstock)

One of the most effective tools to reduce the prevalence of dementia is the treatment of so-called modifiable factors. While a person cannot control their gender at birth, age, or genetic background, there are interventions that can promote overall health and reduce the risk of dementia, some of which are very specific to dementia. These include:

• monitoring and control of blood pressure and cholesterol levels;
• Keeping physically fit through regular activity, including walking and exercising;
• Enjoy activities that stimulate the brain and promote lifelong learning, such as reading, playing games or speaking a second language;
• Keeping in touch with family and friends to maintain an active social environment;
• Limiting the consumption of alcohol and tobacco;
• use of hearing aids to treat hearing loss problems;
• Maintaining a positive attitude by finding purposeful, meaningful engagement in life;
• Choose a healthy diet and avoid unnecessary stress.

Ultimately, the only way to create a world free of dementia is to support research that will lead to more effective treatments and potentially cures. Research is already showing some promising efforts to delay the onset of dementia.

While there is room for optimism, we must be aware that dementia will remain a public health challenge in Canada for many years to come. It is right to offer quality care to people with dementia.

In the meantime, the findings of this report may alert Canadians to an issue that, if left unchecked, will affect hundreds of thousands of Canadian older adults and their families.

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