Dementia as a contemporary challenge for providing care for the aging populations

Abstract

Dementia occurs with a frequency of 10–12% in the entire geriatric population and 33–50% in people over 90 years of age. The most common cause of dementia are: Alzheimer’s disease, rarely vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, frontotemporal dementia and Parkinson’s disease with dementia. There are no medicaments to prevent dementia and effectively treat it. The treatment only slows the progression and improves the quality of life of the patient and caregiver. Taking care of a patient with dementia burdens the caregiver. As the disease progresses, care time extends even to the entire day. Over 90% of caregivers in Poland are family carers. Over 90% of patients stay in their own home until death. The cost of care is high and increases with the duration of the disease. In the case of agitated patients, the cost is higher. Institutional care is more expensive than home care. In Poland, there are no good system solutions in care for a dementia patient. Caregivers do not receive proper support from the govern-ment and subordinate units.