Over 55 million people worldwide suffer from dementia, which is a common and disabling disease that affects the brain. Apart from that jarring number of existing dementia patients around the globe, nearly 10 million new cases of the same disease develop each year. The number of people with dementia is growing worldwide and is expected to triple by 2050.

However, new research suggests that dementia patients who stick to simple daily routines not only could keep their independence but also could help them live healthier lives for longer. As per new research, completing objectives throughout the day, such as meeting grandchildren, making a cup of tea, or going for a walk can help people with dementia remain independent for longer.


What is dementia?

Dementia is a syndrome that causes a decline in cognitive abilities, such as thinking, remembering, and reasoning, that interferes with daily life. It's a loss of brain function that can be caused by several diseases that damage nerve cells. Dementia is more common as people age, but it's not a normal part of aging.

Dementia can have a significant impact on people with the disease, their families, carers, and society. There's often a lack of awareness and understanding of dementia, which can lead to stigma and barriers to diagnosis and care.

Especially likely in people over the age of 65, dementia is a progressive, neurological disease that may present as forgetting things, feeling anxious, struggling to make decisions, and more. Dementia can range in severity from mild to severe, where a person may need complete assistance with daily activities.


What does the study say?

A 'game-changing' trial found that patients looked after by carers or relatives at home could save nearly £9,000 a year by avoiding hospital.

Nearly one million people in the UK are living with dementia , but the costs of providing support across health and social care are expected to rise to £80.1 billion by 2040. However, the trial found finding ways to support those living with the disease to continue to live in their own homes could help to improve wellbeing, reduce inequalities in accessing treatment, and be cost-effective.

The one-year study, published in Lancet Health Longevity, involved 302 patients in the UK who lived at home and were looked after by their husband, wife, or family carer. Two-thirds were put on the new program, called NIDUS-Family, which involves delivering sessions remotely or in person to the patient and carer via a support worker. The sessions focus on practical changes people can make keeping specific priorities of the person with dementia – such as increasing time spent in enjoyable activities, like exercising or doing household chores - in mind.

Results of the trial, by researchers at Queen Mary University in collaboration with the UCL and funded by Alzheimer’s Society, found that dementia patients who received the NIDUS-family intervention were significantly more likely to achieve the goals they set than those who received their usual care. This was found to be true whether the intervention was delivered by video call, phone, or in person.

People with dementia who took part cost the NHS and social care £8934 (37%) less on average over one year than people who did not receive the additional help.


The verdict:

Researchers believe the new therapy could be rolled out to support existing dementia care within the NHS.

The study's lead author, Professor Claudia Cooper from Queen Mary University of London explained to The Daily Mail, "Given NIDUS-family helps people with dementia and their families, and also costs less, it should be widely available within routine care.”

The program can be delivered for £346 per person - far less than the £8,934 it saves annually in health and social care costs .

Dr Richard Oakley, associate director of research and innovation at Alzheimer’s Society, said the proposed therapy could offer an alternative to the current therapies on offer, which, he says, "tend to be expensive, difficult for people in remote areas to access, one-size-fits-all, and need to be delivered by clinicians so are reliant on our over-stretched care system."

As per him, "This research shows we have at our fingertips a cost-effective, realistic solution offering people living with dementia access to tailored, personalized support to achieve their own goals, which we would like to see as an option in routine care.”


The current picture:

Although current national guidelines recommend that everyone with dementia receives personalized, post-diagnostic support, only a few really do. Nearly two-thirds (61%) of those aged over 65 with dementia in the UK live in their own homes, rather than in care homes. However, unmet needs, poor self-care, home safety risks, and burdens reported by family carers are common reasons necessitating a move to a care home.

The news comes as recent research found only 60% of adults put the early signs of dementia down to old age rather than the condition itself, with common symptoms like misplacing items and needing help with everyday tasks getting mixed up.

The study, commissioned by Care UK, also found that 31% believed such symptoms are a normal part of aging because they didn’t know that these could also be symptoms of dementia at the time.