When informed that Ashcroft’s population of those aged 65 and older is 35.7 per cent (compared with 16.9 per cent across Canada), Dr. Yves Joanette laughs. “You’re a super age community!” he says brightly, adding that a super age community is one where 30 per cent or more of the population are in that age group.
Joanette—scientific director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute of Aging, and chair of the World Dementia Council—adds that right now, the only country in the world that is classified as super age is Japan. “The rest of Canada will be super age in approximately 2035; so you’re a leader.”
The good news, he says, is that we now age longer in life. “The alternative is not better news. The only problem it creates is that some diseases of the brain that cause dementia are influenced by age, which is the main risk factor.” He points to Alzheimer’s disease—which causes 60 per cent of all dementia cases—as one where the main risk factor is age.
“The risk increases as age increases,” he notes. “And what’s happening in Canada and in our communities is the increase of people who are the oldest among the older, aged 85-plus. We now have a perfect storm of an aging population where the oldest among the older are more numerous, and more at risk of developing a disease that causes dementia.”
He points out that every time someone is diagnosed with dementia at least two people are affected: the person with dementia and at least one caregiver. Joanette says that 80 per cent of caregivers for those with dementia are women. “It’s either an aging spouse with her own challenges, or a daughter, often from the ‘sandwich generation’ that is taking care of both parents and children.
“Any national plan to address dementia will not only have to target the condition, but address the needs of caregivers. How do we ensure that those living with dementia optimize their wellness, and ensure that caregivers will still be healthy?”
There are more than 400,000 seniors in Canada currently living with dementia, and the percentage of seniors living with dementia has increased by 21 per cent in 10 years. Joanette says that two out of every three people living with dementia is a woman, and that this can only partly be attributed to the fact that women on average live longer than men, since women are not two-thirds of the older population.
“The life expectancy difference between men and women does not account for this difference. There must be something else—possibly a complex cocktail of causes—but we don’t know what. We need more research; not just with people, but in labs with cells.” He points out that until recently, most research into dementia was done with primarily male animals and cells. “Researchers are now working together, and all research at all levels will include males and females.”
Joanette is in charge of the Dementia Research Strategy, which receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and other partners, including the Women’s Brain Health Initiative. “We’re also working very hard with the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada, and putting the money all together rather in little pots.”
He says that dementia is one of the most complicated diseases to untangle. “We’re talking about the brain, and it’s complicated.” There is no cure for dementia, and for those who have it there is no “magic pill”, although Joanette says that some medication can help some people a little bit. However, he adds that we can all work at diminishing the risk of developing dementia.
“What’s good for the heart is good for the brain,” he notes. “Everything you do for cardio-vascular health can diminish the risk of developing a disease that causes dementia.” Another key is enhancing the ability of your brain to compensate for signs of dementia. “It won’t mean that dementia isn’t there, but the signs aren’t there, as the brain is compensating.”
One of the best ways to delay the onset of dementia is learning a new language. “If people enrolled in a language class they could delay the onset of dementia for four to five years. It doesn’t mean it eradicates the disease, but the signs of the disease come later. Instead of living with dementia for 10 to 12 years, you live with it for five or six. It changes the starting point. It’s better for you and your caregiver, better for your health and finances. And it works at all ages.”
Joanette adds that any really brain-challenging activity helps. “It gets your brain out of its slippers, so to speak. I suspect that learning the violin would have the same effect [as learning a new language], but there are no studies.”
One of the great recent discoveries about dementia, he says, is that we now know that the diseases that cause dementia start in the brain 20 to 25 years before dementia manifests itself. “This isn’t brilliant; but now research is focussed on those at risk of developing dementia, and stopping it before those diseases manifest. This is brilliant, and very important for the future. It creates opportunities to maybe intervene earlier, so a lot of research is being done on this.”
He adds that while researchers are making a lot of effort to cure and prevent dementia, a lot of people are living with dementia today. “We need to help people maintain a social role. Not having a social network plays a large part. It helps people with dementia to be included.”
Joanette encourages everyone—not just those who know, or are caring for, someone with dementia—to visit the Dementia Friends Canada website at www.dementiafriends.ca. It is a national campaign that is helping Canadians to learn a little about dementia, and then turn that understanding into simple actions that can improve the lives of people living with dementia.
