As many as 23 per cent of baby boomers are unable to name any of the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.
That’s a troubling statistic for the national Alzheimer Society, who sponsored the online survey.
“If Alzheimer’s is on anyone’s radar, it should be on ours as baby boomers yet few of them knew anything beyond the idea that it’s something to do with memory loss,” said Bill Gaudette, CEO Alzheimer Society of Alberta and Northwest Territories.
“It’s certainly more than not remembering things. There are changes in personality. There are mood changes. There is disorientation.”
More than 1,000 Canadians, aged 45 to 65, completed the survey in July 2010. They were also tested on their knowledge of key risk factors and later-stage symptoms of the progressive and degenerative disease of the brain.
The results showed 50 per cent of respondents could only name memory loss as a warning sign. Most were unaware how manageable health conditions such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease increase the risk of Alzheimer’s.
Gaudette said the lack of awareness could have to do with people’s fear of Alzheimer’s.
“It’s not just people with the disease. Even some professionals are loath to diagnose it because they’re uncomfortable with it. It’s one thing to say you’ve got a physical ailment. But it’s another to say you’ve got some sort of ailment that affects your brain, your mental capacity.”
According to past studies, Alberta has the highest incidence of early-onset Alzheimer’s.
Donna Durand, Red Deer and Central Alberta regional manager with the Alzheimer Society, said she believes baby boomers will take control of their future unlike older generations who did not openly discuss Alzheimer’s.
“Baby boomers resist that. We absolutely say that is not acceptable. We are a group of people who want to name things and we want to know what we can do,” Durand said.
She has seen steady growth in the demand for the society’s programs.
January is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month and Durand encourages more people test their knowledge of the disease by taking the survey at www.alzheimers.ca/testyourknowledge.
“While you’re testing your own knowledge, you’re gaining knowledge. I hope that goes far and wide, like a little flash fire.”
In November, Alzheimer Society office in Red Deer moved to its new location, CiRS Community Village, 4728 Ross St., and changed its phone number to 403-346-4636.
szielinski@www.reddeeradvocate.com
