The symptoms of dementia gradually get more severe as the disease progresses. Dementia is a degenerative neurological disorder.
The brain of a person who has dementia deteriorates with time. In most cases, the damage will start off being rather little, but as time passes, a greater portion of the brain gets damaged by the disorder.
Pre-existing symptoms could likely become more severe, and other symptoms will surface as the disease spreads to other parts of the brain.
Memory loss, shifts in behavior and emotions, and difficulties with thinking and language are some of the most common signs of dementia.
It is essential to have a solid understanding of the dementia timeline to make informed medical and personal decisions about future planning. But, first, it is important to become familiar with the warning signs that appear during the early stages of dementia in order to receive an accurate diagnosis.
Next, it is important to be familiar with the common symptoms that appear during the moderate and late stages of dementia to better prepare yourself for the future. You will be able to recognize when it is time to revaluate the care requirements of your loved one with dementia.
In this post, we will talk about how rapidly dementia advances and the factors that might determine how quickly it progresses.
What Does “Stages Of Dementia” Actually Mean?
There are numerous distinct forms of dementia, and it should be noted that each one advances with time. This indicates that symptoms may start out relatively moderate but progressively worsen over time, typically over many years. These can manifest as difficulties with memory, reasoning, the ability to solve issues, or language, and frequently as shifts in emotional state, perception, or behavior.
A person with dementia will require increasing levels of assistance and, at some time, will require a significant amount of assistance with their day-to-day activities. However, because each individual’s experience with dementia is unique, the rate at which this progresses and the kind of assistance required will vary.
When thinking about dementia, it might be beneficial to conceive of it as having three stages:
Because these terms define the degree to which a person shows the symptoms, they are also referred to as mild, moderate, and severe.
These phases are used to understand how dementia is expected to progress over time and to assist people in making plans for the future. The stages are also useful for determining when treatments are most likely to be effective.
What Significance Value do The Stages of Dementia Hold?
Dementia stages are simply guidelines. Similarly, the progression of dementia does not adhere to a predetermined or specific set of stages that always occur in the same manner for every individual who has dementia.
Because of the following reasons, it is not always easy to discern whether a person’s dementia has moved from one stage to another:
Some symptoms may manifest themselves in a sequence that differs from the stages outlined in this information sheet, or they may not manifest at all.
The stages may overlap; the individual may require assistance with certain areas of day-to-day living but may be able to handle other responsibilities and activities independently.
At one point, some indications, particularly those that are connected to behaviors, may emerge, but at a later time, they may become less severe or perhaps vanish entirely. Other symptoms, including memory loss and difficulties with language and reasoning, tend to persist over time and become more severe.
It is only reasonable to wonder what stage a person is now in or what could take place in the future. However, concentrating on the individual in the here and now is of far more significance. This covers their requirements, how they may lead a healthy life, and how they can be assisted in doing so.
Why Does Dementia Get Worse Over Time?
There are many different kinds of dementia. Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, and dementia with Lewy bodies are a few examples of different types of dementia.
In the early stages of dementia of any kind, a small portion of the affected individual’s brain is destroyed. In this stage, a person experiences fewer symptoms since the area of the brain is responsible for affecting just the abilities dependent on that part of the brain. As a result, these initial symptoms are often rather mild in their manifestation.
Because of this, the term “mild dementia” is commonly used to describe the early stages of dementia.
In the early stages, the region of the brain that is affected by dementia differs depending on the kind of dementia. Because of this, the symptoms of the various varieties will be varied. For instance, memory loss is somewhat prevalent in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease but extremely rare in the early stages of frontotemporal dementia.
As a person’s dementia advances into its middle and later stages, the signs of the various types of dementia tend to become increasingly interchangeable. This is due to the fact that when dementia worsens, a greater portion of the brain is affected.
The condition that is causing dementia eventually affects additional regions of the brain as it progresses. This results in a greater number of symptoms because a greater portion of the brain is unable to function normally. At the same time, parts of the brain that were previously harmed become even more impacted, leading the symptoms that the individual already has to get worse.
The condition will eventually cause severe damage to most of the brain’s areas. This results in significant shifts in all elements of one’s memory, thinking, language, emotions, and behavior, in addition to causing health issues.
How Quick Does Dementia Progress?
The rate at which dementia worsens might differ greatly from one individual to the next due to a number of factors, including the following:
1. Type of Dementia
Alzheimer’s disease, for instance, tends to proceed slower than the other types of dementia.
2. Age of The Person
In older individuals, the progression of dementia is typically more gradual. Those who get dementia at a younger age may discover that the disease advances considerably more rapidly.
3. Additional Chronic Health Complications
Dementia tends to advance faster among patients who also suffer from other disorders, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or high blood pressure, especially if these other problems are not properly handled.
4. Delirium
It is a disorder that manifests itself unexpectedly in a patient.
5. Genetics
Because genetics can play a role in the progression of dementia, it is extremely challenging to forecast what will occur.
6. Emotional Resilience
People who have a high emotional resilience may have fewer dementia-related symptoms and may discover that the disease proceeds more slowly. This has been observed in a few instances.
7. Support Available
At each stage of the disease, people who have dementia are provided with the help and care they require to continue living a life that is fulfilling, comfortable, and independent for as long as possible. Individuals may perform better when the proper support network is put into place. This can also make it easier for people with dementia to have an active social life and connect with others undergoing similar experiences.
There is no way to know for certain how rapidly the symptoms of dementia may progress in a person. It may not take long at all for some persons with dementia to realize they require assistance after receiving their diagnosis. Others, on the other hand, will continue living on their own for a number of years. The rate of progression varies from person to person. It’s important to understand that throughout a dementia diagnosis, we should focus on helping to treat the symptoms that the person presents with. When we take note of the areas of care that person requires assistance with, then this is where we would put the recommended systems in place for providing the required assistance.
References
- https://cbassociatetraining.co.uk/how-quickly-does-dementia-progress/
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/314209#stages
- https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/symptoms-and-diagnosis/how-dementia-progresses/progression-stages-dementia
- https://www.healthline.com/health/dementia/stages#outlook
- https://www.seniorlink.com/blog/dementia-stages-how-fast-dementia-progresses-stages-of-dementia-and-more
- https://www.ashfordutah.com/how-fast-can-dementia-progress/
- https://www.aplaceformom.com/caregiver-resources/articles/dementia-stages
- https://www.homecareassistancetampabay.com/stop-dementia-progression/
