Sharing of risk factors for spouses who share most daily life with dementia patients
Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Professor Ki-woong Kim’s team
[현대건강신문=김형준 기자] A study result showed that dementia patients and their spouses, who spend most of their daily life together, were twice as likely to develop dementia compared to the general elderly. It is pointed out that if a spouse has dementia, low physical activity and depression often worsen, increasing the risk of dementia.
A team led by Professor Ki-woong Kim from the Department of Psychiatry at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital reported for the first time in the world that elderly people whose spouses have dementia have regarding twice the risk of dementia compared to those who do not, because of the lifestyle habits of couples that can increase the risk of dementia.
Dementia patients often have a hard time living a normal life because their mental abilities such as intelligence, will, and memory significantly decline. Therefore, dementia patients need help from those around them, and for dementia patients who have a spouse, the spouse shares most of the daily life and assists the dementia patient.
According to several existing studies, the spouses of dementia patients rapidly decline in mental abilities, such as memory and language recognition, compared to their spouses in the general population. Because couples share the same environment throughout their lives, if they share a lifestyle that causes dementia, the spouse of a dementia patient is also more likely to develop dementia.
About 40% of the causes of dementia are deafness, education level, smoking, depression, social isolation, traumatic brain injury, physical activity, high blood pressure, living environment (air pollution), obesity, excessive drinking, diabetes, etc. 12 factors that can be controlled by humans These are factors that most couples share easily. However, there has been no study yet to find out which factors among the lifestyle habits shared by couples increase the risk of dementia.
Accordingly, Professor Ki-woong Kim’s team conducted a study to identify risk factors that affect the onset of dementia among the lifestyle habits shared between couples. This study was conducted on 784 Korean couples aged 60 years or older who participated in the ‘Korean Longitudinal Study Cognitive Aging and Dementia (KLOSCAD)’. The factors were followed up every 2 years.
The study found that elderly people whose spouse had dementia were regarding twice as likely to develop dementia compared to those who did not. In addition, couples who participated in this study shared dementia risk factors such as education level, physical activity, smoking, traumatic brain injury, and depression. turned out to be
According to these results, if not only dementia patients but also their spouses are provided with education on cognitive impairment and depression, regular checkups, and various programs to enhance the physical activity of the couple, the course of dementia patients will be improved as well as the onset of dementia in their spouses. It is also expected to help lower the risk.
Professor Kim Ki-woong said, “Spouses of dementia patients are highly aware of dementia and are very motivated to maintain their mental health to care for dementia patients. It is necessary to prepare an appropriate educational program for the dementia-causing factors for both the dementia patient and his/her spouse in the world.”
In addition, Professor Kim said, “Decreased physical activity and depression in old age are typical risk factors for dementia. Since there is no cure for dementia, we recommend a steady physical activity and treatment program for prevention.”
Meanwhile, the results of this study were published in ‘The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)’, a world-class academic journal.
