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'Over half' of dementia sufferers put off visiting doctor
More than half of dementia sufferers admitted to waiting over six months after first noticing symptoms to contact a doctor, a survey from a health charity found. The Alzheimer's Society said 54% put off visiting their GP for at least half a year.
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Early symptoms of dementia
- Decline in short-term memory and memory loss.
- Difficulty completing everyday tasks.
- Problems with language and forgetting simple words.
- Disorientation with familiar places, like getting lost on the street their home is on.
- Misplacing things.
- Sudden changes in mood or behaviour.
Source: Alzheimer's Disease International
'One in three people over 65' will develop dementia
"One in three people over the age of 65" will develop dementia, which is why people who suspect they have the disease should talk to their doctor immediately, a leading health charity has said.
The Alzheimer's Society chief executive, Jeremy Hughes, said:
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People 'most reluctant' to seek help for dementia
Dementia has emerged as the disease people are most reluctant to look for help for, a leading health charity found.
In a separate online survey of 2,358 British adults, YouGov found:
- Some 57% of adults who have had a health problem in the past year have put off seeking help about it, nearly half of them because they thought they would be "making a fuss".
- A further 23% of those who had put off seeking help said it was because they feared it was a serious health problem, such as dementia.
'Over half' of dementia sufferers put off visiting doctor
More than half of those living with dementia admitted putting off contacting a doctor for at least six months from when they first noticed symptoms, a leading health charity has found.
The Alzheimer's Society said 54% of people living with the degenerative disease said they had waited for at least half a year after spotting symptoms in either themselves or someone close to them before going to the GP.
Of the 1,043 quizzed by the health charity, some 41% said they had "bottled up" their concerns about their symptoms because they feared the diagnosis or did not want to upset the person they suspected of having the condition.
The study, carried out on Facebook and online, comes after musicians Chris Martin, Lily Allen and Alesha Dixon joined stars to highlight the plight of dementia sufferers in a new advert aimed at encouraging people to become "dementia friends".