It’s difficult enough to be a caregiver for a person with dementia under normal circumstances. Now factor in the additional stressors from the pandemic- changing work schedules, limited visitors, social isolation, etc.- and you can easily understand what dementia patients and their caregivers (both paid and unpaid) are experiencing as restrictions due to the pandemic continue. As one caregiver said, “How do you convey to someone who suffers from dementia the complexities of an international lockdown due to a pandemic?” Nonetheless, for some tactics on how to stay calm and collected while being a dementia caregiver during COVID, click here.

Unfortunately, recent news indicates that dementia is far more prevalent, and on an upswing, than we previously realized. First, a new study published in Epidemiology reports that over the past 20 years, the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia among US men and women has increased rather than decreased. Furthermore, another new study suggests many more are suffering from dementia than official documents and death certificates indicate.  This recent study, published in JAMA Neurology, reports that dementia may in fact be the underlying cause of death in 13.6% of US deaths, rather than the 5% currently attributable to dementia. Why there’s such a discrepancy between official numbers of dementia deaths and actual cases is unclear, though for sure there’s a stigma attached to death by dementia as well as likely underdiagnosis in clinical settings. But if we don’t understand and acknowledge our major causes of death, then as a country we may be misdirecting our resources and efforts. 

All of this distressing data point to one thing we do know clearly: given the prevalence of dementia, and our current lack of treatments, it becomes all the more important to focus our individual and collective efforts on prevention and proactive measures. So reacquaint yourself with what you can be doing by clicking here.