Understanding Dementia: Its Upcoming Issues and their Interlinking

Abstract

Risk factors for dementia have gained great attention in recent years, owing to the aging of the population. Environmental, cardiovascular and genetic factors have been studied more frequently. These risk factors can be greatly influenced depending on the age and gender of the population studied, where the chances of dementia are directly related to increasing age, with women showing greater cognitive decline in adulthood. Nutritional factors have also gained great attention, where central obesity, hypercholesterolemia and the development of diabetes seem to increase neuroinflammation, leading to a greater chance of developing dementia and degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's Disease. Several genetic mutations are implicated in increasing the chances of developing dementia, such as the MAPT gene, but mutations in APOE E4, a cholesterol carrier, have been shown to increase the incidence of dementia, especially in Alzheimer's Disease. Such dementing and degenerative cases are also gaining attention due to growing discussions about the ethical and legal aspects involved, legal and financial interdictions, decisions on medical proposals (like tracheostomy and enteral feeding) and self-management capacity decisions. The more recent studies enhance the relative importance of early diagnosis, genetical aspects and prevention of metabolic dysfunctions, offering a better prognosis for the patients incoming years of life.