If you were 55 or 65 years old in 1920, you would have been considered “old” or “very old,” respectively. Today, with a longer life expectancy, the definition of “old” has changed.
Many adults are now living beyond age 65. And, while old age is just a feeling to some who are still active, healthy, and functioning on their own, many other older adults require specialty care for Alzheimer’s dementia and other age-related conditions.
“Geriatrics has evolved into the care of the most frail and oldest of the old patients,” Dr. Faina Caplan said. Healthy Me PA spoke with Dr. Caplan, the physician site director of the geriatric practice at WellSpan, to learn about her work with patients and the common conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, that affect them.
Caplan has been working in the WellSpan Hospital geriatric unit since completing her residency in 1999. She has spent nearly 20 years working with society’s most vulnerable population, the very elderly, or adults over 80.
17 percent of people aged 75–84 and nearly one in three over age 85 live with Alzheimer’s
Many patients who require nursing home care have some form of dementia, which the Alzheimer’s Association defines as “a general term for a decline in mental ability severe enough to interfere with daily life.”
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, and it impacts memory, behavior, and thoughts. Other types of dementia include vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, and mixed dementia.
The percentage of people with Alzheimer’s dementia increases dramatically with age. The disease affects:
- Just 3 percent of people aged 65–74
- 17 percent of people aged 75–84
- 32 percent of people aged 85 or older
In Pennsylvania last year, there were 280,000 adults with the disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
What are the warning signs? Prevention tips?
The Alzheimer’s Association lists memory loss as the No. 1 warning sign of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. However, Dr. Caplan said, “It’s not just memory. It has to do with all aspects of cognition, language, behavior, personality, and the ability to use judgment to make decisions.”
When Dr. Caplan conducts assessments with her patients, she asks a series of questions related to memory and cognition to review their problem-solving skills, potential personality changes, difficulty completing normal tasks, and anything else of concern.
Most often, close family members notice a change in their loved one’s behavior and seek an assessment to determine if there is a problem and, if so, its cause.
“The test alone does not make a diagnosis,” Dr. Caplan said as she explained that cognitive test results can be a first step in the screening process for determining a patient’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
Dr. Caplan recommends that anyone with an elderly loved one review the resources on the Alzheimer’s Association website to learn about the types of dementia, early signs, and its 24/7 helpline service, available at (800) 272-3900.
She also recommends taking your loved one on annual wellness visits and communicating with his or her doctor about any mild symptoms or changes in behavior you see. By sticking to an annual screening schedule, you can help take away the fear or anxiety your loved one may have with an unexpected doctor’s visit.
WellSpan Hospital’s dementia clinical effective team works to improve care in different areas. The team meets with representatives from the Alzheimer’s Association to determine better ways to collaborate, share resources, and support families in need.
“It’s really an all-consuming disease,” Dr. Caplan said.
For more information on dementia and Alzheimer’s, visit www.alz.org or call the 24/7 hour helpline at (800) 272-3900.