Saving our mothers from dementia: How we can help our parents age successfully

What we can do to ensure that our mothers are positive, happy and mentally active, so dementia does not set in for as long as possible. Women’s Health Month is brought to you by Do you think you genuinely engage with your parents? Do you spend quality time with them? It is natural for young adults to spend lesser time with their parents as they grow older. Youngsters have their own lives and families, and careers. Parents have a different worldview, and conversations with them can be laborious. Yes, we may love our parents, we may take them out for dinners or movies, and spend time with them. But as sons and daughters, do we provide them with enough mental support and the patience they need? Take your time to think about it. If your honest answer is ‘no’, it isn’t just the guilt you will have to deal with in the near future. You will also have to deal with their dementia sooner than later, says Dr Lakshmipathy Ramesh, Senior Consultant – Geriatrics, at Kauvery Hospital in Chennai. Dementia is not a specific disease. It is a term used to refer to a group of diseases associated with decline in memory and loss of other mental skills, and Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia. As mortality rates increase in developing countries and people live longer, health experts have warned that countries like India could face an epidemic of dementia among its elderly in the coming decades. Since the average life-expectancy in women is more and we have a general apathy towards their health, our mothers are even more vulnerable to dementia than our fathers. In India, women are prone to social isolation and withdrawal from society. They tend to be more diffident, face a lot […]

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