Be empowered: Reduce risks of developing dementia
On the Fourth World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, July 28, 2024, Pope Francis delivered the message with the words, “We can be certain, then, that He will be close to us also in old age, all the more because, in the Bible, growing old is a sign of blessing.”
Oct 18, 2024

PENANG: On the Fourth World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, July 28, 2024, Pope Francis delivered the message with the words, “We can be certain, then, that He will be close to us also in old age, all the more because, in the Bible, growing old is a sign of blessing.” At the same time, in the Psalms we also find this heartfelt plea to the Lord: “In my old age do not abandon me” (cf. Ps 71:9).
On September 29, the Msgr Aloysius Spirituality Centre (MASC Penang) hosted an informative talk by Dr Cecilia Chan who has been involved in the eldercare industry for more than 20 years. She is a gerontologist who is very passionate in advocating for those with dementia, and also a columnist with HERALD.
Statistics shown have proven that dementia is our most-feared illness, more than heart disease or cancer. Dementia is a complex condition not caused by a single factor unlike pneumonia. Sadly, every three seconds someone in the world develops dementia. According to WHO, 2023, currently more than 55 million people have dementia worldwide with a yearly increase of nearly 10 million new cases. On home ground, Malaysia, dementia cases are set to rise 312 per cent by 2050. (T. Arumugam, 2022).
However, we praise God that one in three cases of dementia (according to The Lancet Commission Report July 2017) can be prevented by addressing the following lifestyle factors: INCREASE education, physical activity, and social contact; and DECREASE hearing loss, hypertension, obesity, smoking, depression and diabetes.
Our brain is an amazing organ reaching complete physical maturation only at puberty. Our brain has no access to the outside world. It needs a healthy body, that is all our organs to serve it: the heart, lungs, sensory system, GI tract and liver.
The cause of dementia is multifactorial and therefore needs effective prevention and integrative treatment. How do we go about it? These are the important factors that need our close attention in our fight against dementia: physical exercise; healthy diet; social connection; treatment for conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, depression and obesity; smoking; hearing loss; sleep; use of our brains and our mental and emotional wellbeing.
When the talk drew to an end, Anthony Michael shared his thoughts. He commented, “The talk was very informative and suggested an array of ways of how to reduce the risk of developing dementia. The idea that a healthy body can actually slow down dementia has a new meaning for me. It came as a surprise to me that a combination of physical activity and a balanced diet can reduce the risk of dementia by 67 per cent. I think that there should be a follow-up session on this issue.”
We are sure that the rest of the 60 attendees of this very useful talk are of the same opinion.
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