Dementia in Trentino: Risk Factors & Prevention
Key Statistics – Dementia & MCI in Trentino (Projected Jan 1, 2025)
| Category | Number of People |
|---|---|
| Dementia (65+ years) | 10,572 |
| Mild Cognitive Impairment (60+ years) | 8,868 |
| Early Onset Dementia (35-64 years) | 224 |
| Total People with Dementia or MCI (estimated) | 19,664 |
In Italy as a whole, an estimated 1,100,000 people live with a clinically relevant form of dementia, with nearly one million experiencing mild cognitive impairment. This translates to a care burden involving approximately three million caregivers.
Understanding Cognitive Domains
Cognitive difficulties are assessed across six key domains:
- Mnesic: Memory
- Linguistic: Language
- Attentional: Attention
- Executive: Higher-level thinking & planning
- Visuospatial: Spatial awareness & visual processing
- Praxic: Motor skills & execution of tasks
There is growing recognition of the importance of evaluating a seventh domain: Social Cognition – the ability to understand others’ thoughts and interact appropriately in social contexts. Difficulties in this area are particularly associated with Fronto-Temporal Dementia.
COVID-19 & Dementia
While no official estimates exist,Dr. Di Giacopo suggests the COVID-19 pandemic may have accelerated the manifestation of existing vulnerabilities and contributed to an increase in psychiatric syndromes, wich are known risk factors for neurodegenerative diseases.
Early Onset dementia
Dementia can affect younger individuals, typically with onset around age 50 (40-64 year range). These cases frequently enough involve fronto-Temporal Dementia or atypical forms of Alzheimer’s Disease presenting with visual-spatial or language disorders. However, the incidence of early-onset dementia is lower than in older adults.
Prevention is Key
Dr. Di Giacopo emphasizes the importance of prevention, starting from school age, to address the challenges posed by the aging population and the rising prevalence of dementia.