Dementia a "serious problem" in disaster zone

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Dementia dire among elderly in quake zone

Collapse of communities accelerating mental malaise

Jiji

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120715x1.html#.UAK5K5FIwpU

SENDAI — Dementia has become a serious problem among the elderly in the three prefectures ravaged by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami as the radical change in their living environments continues to take a toll.

In Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, the severity of the disorder is rising in a number of elderly, and several others are showing symptoms.

Experts attribute the problem mainly to a less friendly residential environment and the collapse of local communities following the disasters. Adequate support is not readily available and some now live alone, away from families and friends.

According to a survey in May by a council of doctors in the heavily damaged coastal city of Ishinomaki in Miyagi, 45 people aged 65 or older said they leave their belongings in unknown places or have trouble finding objects at least three to four times a week, or sometimes every day, a sign of early-stage dementia.

The dementia of an 85-year-old woman living in Ishinomaki worsened markedly after the tsunami devastated the city. The dressmaking school she used to run was closed by damage. Since her flooded house was renovated, she has been living alone since her husband died in February.

Her eldest son, 65, is struggling to deal with his mother's illness.

"She even cannot recognize that her husband died," he said.

Following the advice of the doctors' council, he applied to have his mother certified as a person in need of nursing care.

In devastated Minamisanriku, a local government official in charge of resident support said the situation started deteriorating after a year.

"The number of dementia cases started increasing after a year had passed since the catastrophe," he said.

This is mainly because residents in each community were forced to live apart and in different temporary housing areas, making it difficult to support each other, the official said.

A survey by Tohoku University said the disasters accelerated the deterioration of people's dementia by three or four years within a matter of just three months. One patient couldn't even tell what season it was.

"This is an unusual phenomenon," said associate professor Katsutoshi Furukawa, 51.

The problem is just as serious in Iwate Prefecture. Yasuo Terayama, 58, a professor at Iwate Medical University, said the symptoms are expanding.

"A growing number of patients are suffering from insomnia and becoming violent at temporary housing," he said.

The number of consultations at the prefecture's medical center for dementia has soared about 2.5-fold since the disasters.

The patients are likely being affected by the stress felt by their family members, experts said.

Naoto Kobayashi, 38, a doctor specializing in dementia in the city of Fukushima, said support was crumbling.

"As younger people have left Fukushima due to the nuclear accident, the support system for the elderly has become fragile," he said.

Hiroshi Matsuda, 63, head of a hospital in Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture, said paying attention to those with dementia is critical.

"Dementia patients are vulnerable to stress and it is important to be close to them and listen to what they have to say," he warned.