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I started this personal blog site almost ten years ago mainly to hone my writing skills while sharing my wealth of knowledge and skills to impact the readers in my small way. What I love most is that I give myself freedom to write on any topic which I consider important at that moment in time. Sometimes I follow what is going on around me and other times; some topics keep showing up in my brain until I write about them. I research the topic that I am writing about to make it balanced. I must admit that I do not write about the politics of the day though I know very well that politics breathes into all aspects of our lives.
I have been led into today’s post by what I have been observing in the elderly people in my community. I want to draw attention to it and raise awareness of it in our society.
While growing up, the elderly : 70 years and older, were very few in our villages and we treated them with great respect and dignity. Almost all of them were mentally agile and enjoyed relative good health. They walked with the support of a stick. That is how we drew them in our art lessons. My paternal aunt died aged 104 years in 2002. By then I was working in Botswana and came home every 2- 3 years . She surprised me on my last visit when she asked me, “Jane, when did you come back to Uganda?’’
One of my cousins died two years ago aged 104 but still insisting on choosing what she wanted to wear for the day and engaging visitors in flowing conversations and prayer.
However, I have been visiting an 86 years old male relative for the last five years, taking care of his 80-year-old wife suffering from dementia in a society where women nurture and take care of the sick. The children abroad help out by paying for the day care nurse , the food and medicines she requires. Talking to him reveals a frightened person not sure of what will happen next. He is emotionally tired most of the time. Whenever I visit them , I end up being sucked into their situation. I feel his pain of watching a beloved disappear little by little and yet being only able to do so little for her.
It always reminds me of Nicholas Sparks 1996 romance novel entitled The Notebook. It was adapted into a film in 2004. The protagonist Noah watched helplessly as Alice, his childhood sweetheart, wife of 49 years, slowly lose clarity due to Alzheimer’s disease.
“Alzeheimer’s …. It is a barren disease, as empty and lifeless as a desert. It is a thief of hearts and souls and memories.’’- Nicholas Spark, in The Notebook.
According to the World Health Organisation(WHO) website: https://www.who.int
- dementia is an umbrella term for several diseases affecting memory, thinking, reasoning skills and ability to perform daily activities.
- It is a chronic progressive disease of the brain caused by damage to it.
- It is the 7th leading cause of death and a major cause of disability and dependency among old people worldwide.
- 9% of dementia occurs in the young while 91% occurs in the 65+years of age. It tends to get worse after 65 years of age.
- 60-70 percent of dementia are caused by Alzheimer’s disease.
- It is not an inevitable part of ageing. It has no cure.
Dementia has become more prevalent in the last 50 years. In 2021, about 57 million people were living with dementia worldwide. 10 million new cases are diagnosed each year.
In May 2017, WHO recognised dementia as a public health priority. It drew out the Global Action on the Public Health Response to Dementia for 2017-25. It is meant to address the skyrocketing global dementia cases that threaten to overwhelm the health care systems.
It has been officially extended to 2031 as many countries had fallen back on their targets. It serves to increase awareness, reduce stigma, reduce risk of dementia and improve the diagnosis, treatment and care- to improve the quality of life and daily functioning while supporting their care givers.
The increase in cases is associated with an increase in the ageing populations and some modifiable health and lifestyle factors.
Some Scientific studies have associated this increase rate with the increased use of chemical pollutants , fertilisers and insecticides in the last fifty years.
Pesticides are known to act as neurotoxins : toxins to nerve cells of insects and have been proved to accumulate over time in the human body. Chronic exposure to low levels of environment pesticides leads to their accumulation in the brain cells , causing damage that results in age-related cognitive decline.
The changes in the brain start years before the clinical signs appear. As dementia develops slowly and invisibly, it is often called “ the silent thief’’.
Pesticide –related health risk remains a controversial topic that demands for more ongoing scientific cohort and cross-sectional studies in different populations.
In some epidermiology studies, the increased chronic exposure to pesticides in some agricultural zones has been associated with higher rates of Alzheimer’s disease in the populations.
Bill Gates, the American billionaire entrepreneur and philanthropist, a co- founder of the software company Microsoft(1975) , experienced the agony of watching his father whom he refers to as a ‘’ a giant in every sense of the word, slowly but steadily lose himself as he suffered from Alzheimer’s for almost thirteen years. He died aged 94 years in 2020.
Since then Bill Gates has donated 300 million USD to Alzheimer’s disease Research:
- To encourage researchers to work together and share information
- To work with commercial partners to develop simple, better diagnostic tests and making them accessible.
- Improve current treatments
- Develop new accessible treatments
- Study more and understand the pathology of the disease.
Previously, the diagnostic tests relied on invasive spinal taps or expensive PET scans. Before the PET scans, the disease could only be confirmed after microscopic examination of the brain of a dead patient.
Available information indicates that since May 2025, there has been a blood-based diagnostic test for adults aged 55+ showing cognitive symptoms in USA. This is no mean achievement.
More thoroughly researched break throughs are likely to occur if more funds are made available.
According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics report of the National Population and Housing Census of 2024:
Uganda’s life expectancy has increased to 68.2 years.
Male averaging 66.9 years female averaging 70.1 years
The 60 + now are 5.0% of the population of 45.9 million
We are likely to see an increase in dementia cases.
We need to take precautions, increase awareness about the disease so as to reduce the risk of developing it.
Not forgetting that Uganda is mainly an agricultural country and the use of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides which find their way into the water, food and air, is on the increase.
In my own circle, a number of friends; male and female, have been diagnosed with dementia in the last six years. It is very scary for many of us as the health care system is inadequate. Patients with dementia and their carers have very little support apart from family and friends.
We are left with focusing on the modifiable health lifestyle changes to reduce the risk of developing the disease.
These protect the brain and heart health. They include:
- Regular exercises
- Stopping the use of tobacco
- Minimising the use of alcohol
- Having a balanced diet and nutrition
- Daily mental stimulation to challenge your brain. Keep learning new things.
- Proper management of medical conditions like High Blood Pressure, Type 2 Diabetes and high cholesterol blood levels
- Preventing injury to the head by wearing helmets and seatbelts.
- Spend time engaging with family, friends, the community and nature.
- Adequate regular sleep at night (7-8 hours)
- Minimising indoor, outdoor environmental pollution.
These two quotes about Alzheimer’s disease are enough to convey the devastating effects of the disease: The Mind Thief.
“Alzheimer disease is the silent thief that slips into your mind at night, stealing your most precious memories, your words, and your very identity, leaving you awake in a house of strangers that used to be your life.’’- Wendy Mitchell, a renown British author and global dementia advocate after being diagnosed with it, aged 58 years in 2014.
“Alzheimer’s is the cleverest thief, she not only steals from you , she steals the very thing that you need to remember what’s been stolen’’ -Jarod Kintz
QUESTION : Are you seeing what I am seeing in the elderly around us?
Has this post helped you recognise the need for changes in your lifestyle to reduce the risk of developing dementia?
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