Baby Boomers in Sechelt, like their counterparts around the rest of the country, have a troubling lack of awareness about Alzheimer's disease, according to a new on-line survey.
"The gap in awareness in B.C. is sounding alarm bells as to whether our largest population is prepared for the rising tide of dementia that is ahead," said Kerri Sutherland, the Sechelt support and education co-ordinator for the non-profit Alzheimer Society of B.C.
Perhaps more troubling, she adds, is that respondents to the national survey were unfamiliar with controllable risk factors associated with Alzheimer's disease, such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease and chronic depression.
"Awareness and education are the cornerstones for risk reduction particularly since there is yet no cure or treatment to stop the progression of Alzheimer's disease," Sutherland said. "People need to take care of their brain health. We need to work together to support those who are already on the dementia journey and to find the causes and cure for this devastating disease."
The survey was released in early January to kick off national Alzheimer Awareness Month. Among its findings:
24 per cent of B.C. Baby Boomers can't name any of the early signs of Alzheimer's. This is worrisome, Sutherland said, because the risk level for Boomers doubles every five years after age 65. And Boomers make up almost 30 per cent of the overall population in the province.
Less than half of those surveyed in B.C. were able to identify later-stage symptoms other than the most commonly known loss of memory.
"This indicates a general lack of awareness of life-altering changes such as hallucinations and complete dependency on others for basic care," she said. "We want everyone, especially those 40 and older, to learn about Alzheimer's disease, know the warning signs, and reduce their risk by making simple lifestyle changes."
Sechelt residents can test their own knowledge by taking the survey at www.alzheimerbc.org/testyourknowledge.aspx.
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