HEALTH bosses across Barnsley are encouraging people to ‘act on dementia’ in a bid to improve diagnosis rates.
Dementia is a progressive condition that impacts memory, thinking, behaviour, and the ability to perform everyday tasks.
There are more than 100 known types of dementia. The most common are Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. Various factors increase the risk of someone developing dementia.
Dr David Crichton, medical officer at NHS South Yorkshire, said: “Dementia Action Week is a timely reminder that while dementia develops over time, there are steps we can all take to reduce our risk.
“These include keeping active, not smoking, eating healthily and exercising your mind.
“Not only do these habits reduce our risk of dementia, but they can also reduce the risk of other conditions including cancer, type two diabetes, obesity, stroke and heart disease.
“If you’re worried about your own memory, or think you may have dementia, it’s a good idea to see a GP.
“If you’re worried about someone else’s memory problems, encourage them to make an appointment with a GP and perhaps suggest that you go with them.”
