Frequency distribution

Dementia is a phenomenon of old age and is increasingly becoming a widespread disease. Every 10th German who has passed the age of 65 already shows cognitive deficits, which in some cases can lead to a dementia syndrome. Between the ages of 65 and 70, the rate of illness is 2%.

In the period between 70 and 79 years the rate rises to 6%, with women being affected slightly more frequently than men. This gender-specific difference becomes even more pronounced from the age of 85 onwards, resulting in an overall illness rate of 20%. To what extent the high rate of female patients is related to the higher average age of women is questionable.

Life expectancy

Life expectancy is related to the time of illness. Alzheimer’s dementia, which is present in 60% of dementia diseases, results in the death of the patient within 10 to 12 years. It is not the Alzheimer’s disease that is responsible, but the diseases accompanying the condition.

For example, the risk of contracting pneumonia (pneumonia) increases when the patient is bedridden. This can cause the death of elderly people in particular. An example: If a person falls ill with Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 67, he or she has a probable life expectancy of 77 to 79 years. The older the patient is at the time of his or her illness, the more probable are secondary diseases that ultimately cause the patient’s death.

Duration

The duration of dementia always depends on the type of underlying disease. Patients usually die from a concomitant disease, which is caused by the increasing lack of independence and immobilization, but also by the advanced age of most patients. Common diseases are inflammation of the lungs (pneumonia) or the urinary tract and, in old age, cardiovascular disease or age-related cardiac arrest.

In rare cases, dementia leads to the death of the affected person. Therefore, the duration of the disease varies depending on the underlying disease and the aggressiveness of the course, sometimes between 3 and 20 years. An exact prognosis is hardly possible even if the underlying disease is known.

Therapy

The treatment options are rather limited in the presence of primary dementia with the cause of pathological changes in the brain. So far, there is no prospect of a cure, however, depending on the symptoms, medication can be administered in order to keep the burden on patients and their relatives as low as possible. In this sense, anti-dementia drugs (drugs against dementia) can be used as long as they indicate the underlying disease.

If the dementia is accompanied by depression or if other psychiatric symptoms such as paranoia or delusions occur in the course of the disease, relief can also be provided here by means of drug treatment (antidepressants and antipsychotics). Conditions in which the patient is unusually restless or sleep disorders are also symptoms that can be alleviated by various drugs if necessary. If the dementia is not yet too far advanced, cognitive training can be considered. This allows the patient to continue practicing his or her abilities and thus possibly maintain them longer.