Dementia illnesses / dementia.

What does dementia mean?

The term dementia is defined as a loss of mental abilities. This primarily means a loss of memory and cognitive ability. The loss of these abilities first affects the absorption and reproduction of new thought content, as a result of which the person's orientation (where am I, what is happening right now) and judgement, as well as their verbal and numeric abilities and parts of their personality, suffer damage. This may be reflected in everyday activities such as washing, cooking or shopping. Forgetfulness alone does not mean dementia.

Dementia is a common disease among the elderly

Forms of dementia are among the most common and consequential neuropsychiatric disorders affecting the elderly. In Germany - among people aged 65 and over - there are currently almost one million people suffering from a form of dementia. The number of new sufferers is almost 200,000 per year. Almost half of people requiring nursing care in private households have a form of dementia, with this proportion rising sharply as the level of nursing care rises. At the same time, dementia is, by some distance, the major reason for admission to residential facilities. The proportion of residents in such facilities suffering from dementia has risen continuously in past decades. Currently, over 60 % of people in residential facilities are affected by this disorder.