Do you consider that stress can be a major cause of dementia? Do you think that alcohol consumption may predispose to the development of this type of cognitive pathology? Do you think that with some help, people with dementia can go shopping, cook meals, or care for others?
The objective is to learn the opinion of the Portuguese on these and other issues, and for that CINTESIS joined the association Alzheimer Portugal and the National Program for Mental Health of the Directorate-General for Health, in the implementation of a new national survey on public awareness and understanding of dementia
“Dementia corresponds to a large group of diseases that cause a progressive decline in memory, intellectual capacity, reasoning, social skills and changes in normal emotional reactions,” explains Pedro Machado Santos, a CINTESIS researcher.
The main risk factor for dementia is age, but there are other factors that, properly managed, can help reduce the risk of developing dementia. “Most persons do not seem to recognize that there are behaviors that we can adopt and that can act as protective factors against dementias”, clarifies the CINTESIS researcher working in the field of Ageing.
The results of the survey should allow a better understanding of the experiences, expectations and concerns of the Portuguese society about this pathology, as well as of the knowledge, attitude and beliefs of the general public. “Based on these data, we can promote adequate and efficient awareness campaigns in the future,” says Pedro Machado Santos.
In this context, it must be reminded that the OECD’s “Health at a Glance 2017” report presents alarming data on the prevalence of dementia, placing Portugal as the 4th country with more cases per thousand inhabitants. The OECD average is 14.8 cases per thousand inhabitants, and for Portugal the estimate is 19.9.
The questionnaire is confidential and anonymous. The research team calls for everyone to participate.