Dementia Day Center, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, the Thai Red Cross Society prepares for Thailand’s anticipated aging society by offering various rehabilitation services to help slow down the decline of people with dementia, while planning to launch a professional course for caregivers, and establishing the “Bright Brain Club” to persuade people of all ages to learn and care for early brain health to avoid the possibility Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s disease is the leading and most common cause of dementia in older adults. The higher the average life expectancy of Thai people, the greater the chance of dementia. Associate Professor Sukcharoen Tangwongchai, M.D. the Head of the Dementia Day Center, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, reveals that 6 out of 10 people with dementia are caused by Alzheimer’s disease. It is estimated that there are currently about 600,000 people with dementia in Thailand. fah talai jone
“Alzheimer’s” is an incurable disease, but we can slow the decline to the disease’s terminal stage as much as possible. However, diagnosis and treatment when symptoms occur may be too slow. This disease is not only the patients’ problem but also affects caregivers who have to take care of patients 24/7. It can cause stress and various forms of challenges for the caregivers. Therefore, raising awareness to prevent the disease is necessary for everyone,” Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sukcharoen voiced his concern about the near future when Thai society becomes a full-fledged super age society in the year 2031 in which 28 percent of the population would be the elderly. This means the tendency to find more patients with dementia will increase drastically.
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