Dementia affecting more young South Africans, expert says
Health experts are warning that dementia is increasingly affecting younger South Africans, with one of the concerns being the impact of screen time.
According to the World Health Organisation, 57 million people worldwide live with the condition, and that number is expected to more than double by 2050.
Sub-Saharan Africa is bracing for a sharp rise from just over 2 million affected people currently to more than 7 million by mid-century.
Dr Patty Francis is the president of the Neurological Association of South Africa.
Speaking on Tuesday, World Brain Day, she says the aim is to promote healthy habits from preconception through old age.
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" There are certain genetic types or certain genes that predispose individuals to early onset or younger onset Alzheimer's disease, but broadly looking at dementia as a change in intellectual function, one can immediately understand why we say that dementia is not just a disease of old age."
Francis says dementia is increasingly linked to long-term lifestyle risks like poor diet. She says nearly half of all cases are preventable.
" A healthy diet, which involves drinking adequate volumes of water in any given day. More than 70% of the weight of the brain is made up of water. Water should be the primary liquid that we consume. One should try to average about seven hours of sleep. Lifestyle factors that contribute to vascular disease, per se, would be no smoking. Minimise alcohol."
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