Dementia and the aging Filipino population

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine population is considered to be a young one — with people aged below 30 years old comprising about 70 percent of the total. In contrast, people who are 65 years old and up are estimated to make up only about 4.1 percent.

At the recent Philippine Medical Women’s Association (PMWA) diamond anniversary and 60th annual convention at the Manila Hotel, a symposium was held to discuss dementia, a serious cognitive disorder and a problem faced by a number of people in old age.

Resource speakers, including Dr. Antonio Ligsay, chief of the Research Management and Development Division of the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD); Dr. Jacqueline Dominguez, head of the Memory Center at St. Luke’s Medical Center; and Dr. Jose Leo Jiloca of the Dementia Society of the Philippines tackled issues related to dementia, such as its social and economic impact, what can be done for the patient in the different stages of the disorder, and what is needed in the Philippine setting.

Dr. Ligsay notes that with the aging Philippine population, cases of dementia will also increase. But with the stresses of modern-day living, people have been moving away from taking care of the extended family. Thus, the attention given to elderly people has dwindled.

There are those who are further incapacitated due to sickness. “People with dementia live long and you have to take care of them,” says Ligsay.

Memory loss in old age is natural, as an elderly person’s cells may not be replaced as quickly as those of a younger person, but it can be prevented through physical and mental exercises and habits that train the memory. Basically, to keep the memory sharp, doctors suggest that old people should try to remain nearly as active as they were in their prime.

Dementia results in long-term decline in cognitive functions such as memory, attention, language, and problem solving. In later stages of the condition, the affected persons may not be able to tell the time or day, exactly where they are, and exactly who they are. It is often irreversible — with less than 10 percent of dementia cases stemming from causes that can be reversed with treatment. At present, the medicines only slow the progress of the condition.

Dr. Dominguez prescribes to doctors, “It is up to us to learn more about prescribing (these drugs) to our patients.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Jiloca provided an extensive list of non-pharmacological interventions or proper ways of giving care to patients afflicted with dementia.

He stresses that there may be a need for the country’s caregivers to become more competent in dealing with dementia as the population continues to age.

Dr. Dominguez adds, “It’s important to diagnose dementia in the early stages, before the first symptom happens so that something can be done about it.”

The burden of providing the baseline for early diagnosis of conditions such as dementia falls on health research institutions such as the PCHRD, but these organizations need a lot of support from the public.

The good doctor stresses that more research on dementia is needed if there is to be any progress in upgrading the treatment and care given to patients in the Philippines.