Australia is incubating a dementia time bomb

Okay.

So Claire, many Australians know someone living with dementia or they've cared for a loved one with it.

So just let's start off, can you tell us how do medical experts actually define dementia, and what is life actually like for the roughly 450,000 Australians who are currently affected by it?

Well, look, dementia is actually an umbrella term for various progressive brain conditions that can impair your memory, thinking, behavior, and your ability to carry out everyday activities.

So Alzheimer's disease is the most common form, and that accounts for around 60 to 70% of cases.

But other common types include vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, which is a type that can cause hallucinations and delusions and paranoia, and that's the type that actor Robin Williams had, although, um, that only became apparent after he'd died.

Frontotemporal dementia is the type that the actor Bruce Willis has, and that targets the part of the brain involved in language and, and behavior.

And as to what life's like, well, it, it really varies to people living with dementia from those like our case study, Bill Yeats, whom I spoke to for the story.

He managed to maintain a very active and, and full life seven years after his diagnosis with early onset dementia.

So y- you know, he does a lot of exercise, he socializes with his friends, and he makes a big effort to stay on top of symptoms.

But then the other end of the spectrum, there are those in the later stages of the disease who can experience very distressing symptoms like agitation, losing the ability to communicate, immobility, and, and loss of bodily functions.

And it's really heartbreaking for family members who often describe what it's like to witness their loved one slipping away before their eyes.

But look, a lot has changed.

Until last decade, dementia was regarded as this grim lottery.

So if you made it into your twilight years, you would just wait and see if it came for you.

And if you carried a gene linked to dementias, it was like your destiny.

But to that, when people were diagnosed with dementia, their doctors would say to them, "Get your affairs in order as there's nothing that can be done.

You know, make sure your will is done," that kind of thing.

So nowadays the thinking has changed, and there's a real emphasis on living well with dementia and taking preventative measures to slow progression of the disease.

So there's a lot of focus on staying connected, having an active social life, eating well, remaining active, and really just living your best life.