According to the 2023 South Carolina Alzheimer’s Disease Registry, 122,699 South Carolinians are currently living with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia. According to the Alzheimer’s Association’s 2024 Facts & Figures Report, there are 219,000 South Carolinians providing care for them.
Here we will share important information and resources for people living with dementia, their caregivers, family members and professionals serving them.
What is Dementia?
Dementia itself is not a disease. It is a general term used to describe a loss of memory, judgment, reasoning and other thinking abilities that are severe enough to interfere with daily life. Typically, 2 or more of the following cognitive areas are impacted:
Learning and memory: the ability to acquire, store and retrieve information.
Language: the ability to express thoughts and process messages.
Executive Function: the ability to plan, problem-solve and use good judgment.
Complex Attention: the ability to sustain focus and concentration through distractions.
Perceptual Motor: the ability to coordinate senses and motor skills to respond to our environment.
Social Cognition: impulse control, expressing empathy and behaving appropriately in social settings.
Dementia is not a normal part of aging. Dementia symptoms are caused by diseases of the brain. Like other health issues such as cancer and heart disease, our risk for dementia increases as we age, but it is not an inevitable part of aging. Many older adults live long lives without ever developing dementia.
Globally, there have been well over 100 different brain diseases identified that cause dementia symptoms. The most common cause is Alzheimer’s disease. Other causes of dementia include Vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia and frontotemporal disorders.
It is important to understand that the signs and symptoms often differ between these causes of dementia, especially in the early stage. For more information on causes of dementia, read our SCDOA article Alzheimer's Disease vs. Dementia - What's the Difference? or check out the Alzheimer’s Association’s Types of Dementia page.
Additional articles on dementia and aging topics can be found in the Articles section of our website.
What are the Warning Signs?
Dementia signs and symptoms vary depending on the type and stage of dementia and on the individual. Common early warning signs include:
- Memory loss that disrupts daily life.
- Challenges in planning or problem-solving.
- New problems with words in speaking or writing.
- Confusion with time or place.
- Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships.
- Decreased or poor judgment compared to that person’s baseline.
- Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps.
- Withdrawal from work or social activities.
- Changes in mood, personality, or behavior.
- New difficulty completing familiar tasks.
Examples may include:
- New challenges managing bills, a budget or checkbook.
- Getting lost in familiar places.
- Placing familiar items in unusual places (e.g., keys in the freezer).
- Repeatedly missing appointments.
- Making risky decisions that are uncharacteristic for that person.
- Loss of interest in activities or people the person typically enjoys.
- Difficulty with spatial perception (navigating stairs or fitting a key in a keyhole).
- Trouble completing regular household chores.
- Challenges entering or following a conversation.
- Making socially inappropriate comments uncharacteristic for that person.
What is Mild Cognitive Impairment?
Mild Cognitive Impairment (“MCI”) describes cognitive changes that are noticed by the individual but are not disruptive enough to significantly impact that person’s daily life. It is the stage on the continuum between “normal aging” and an early stage of a type of dementia.
The National Institute on Aging estimates that 10 to 20% of people aged 65 or older with MCI develop dementia over a one-year period. However, not everyone diagnosed with MCI progresses to dementia. In many cases, the symptoms of MCI may stay the same or even improve, especially with the appropriate interventions.
For more information on Mild Cognitive Impairment, check out the Alzheimer's Association's special report, More Than Normal Aging: Understanding Mild Cognitive Impairment.
Why is Early and Accurate Diagnosis Important?
Although there is not yet a cure for any form of dementia, early and accurate detection can benefit those diagnosed and their families in many ways. Symptoms may be caused by a medical condition that is treatable (e.g., depression, infection, dehydration, medications); lifestyle and drug interventions are most (and sometimes only) effective when started early; length and quality of life can be positively impacted. To learn more about these and many other benefits of early and accurate diagnosis, read the SCDOA article, Why Is Early and Accurate Diagnosis of Dementia Important?
Is there Anything I Can Do to Lower My Risk?
Yes! In fact, The Lancet Commission's research study, Dementia prevention, intervention, and care 2024 shares that there are 14 factors that can help delay or prevent up to 45% of dementia cases. For example:
- Prevent head injury – wear seat belts and helmets.
- Move more – take a walk, a swim, use the stairs, take a chair yoga class.
- Follow a heart-healthy diet. Helpful nutrition resources and support services through the SCDOA can be found here.
- Minimize health issues such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and depression.
- Quit smoking.
- Limit alcohol consumption.
- Check and protect your hearing and vision.
- Stay socially connected. Learn more about the benefits of social connection here.
- Learn new things – a new language, activity, or hobby perhaps.
- Support efforts to reduce air pollution.
More resources on action you can take to maintain brain health can be found at the South Carolina Department of Public Health’s Take Brain Health to Heart website.
How Can I Learn More about Dementia and the Support Resources Available in South Carolina?
Join a Dementia Care Specialist for the following free webinars:
Dementia 101: The Basics (virtual) provides a general introduction to dementia with topics including dementia types, stages, warning signs, risk factors, navigating a diagnosis, current treatments, care planning and support resources available. This is a standing monthly webinar offered the first Wednesday of each month from 1-2pm. Click here to register for Dementia 101: The Basics.
Dementia 201: Positive Interactions (virtual) provides practical communication and problem-solving strategies to support meaningful relationships through a dementia diagnosis. Click here to register for Dementia 201: Positive Interactions.
To request an in-person dementia education program in your community, click here to complete our brief speaker request form.
Additional information about dementia, caregiving, and resources available can be found in the South Carolina Department on Aging’s Dementia Toolkit, coming soon!
For assistance with navigating a suspicion or diagnosis of dementia, call our Dementia Care Specialist at 1-800-868-9095 or email us at dementia@aging.sc.gov.
For upcoming events click here for the SCDOA events calendar.