Girls need to know the risks of dementia

‘Celebrate your Incredible Brain’

Two thirds of people with dementia are female; and two thirds of dementia carers are also female

Ciara O’Hara

‘Celebrate your Incredible Brain’, a free event Mullingar Soroptimists hosted on International Women’s Day, aimed to empower women and girls by providing information on reducing the risk of dementia.

Sarah McCormack of Soroptimists Mullingar and District introduced the speakers to the gathering in the Annebrook House Hotel, outlined the history and significance of International Women’s Day, and explained why dementia was the focus of the occasion.

“Even though great advancements have been made for women, and particularly in relation to the Western world, it also is a day that we call on to remind ourselves of the work that still has to be done to get equality in our world.

“And that is about equality, it’s not about one gender higher or greater than the other – simply equality. And that’s why International Women’s Day is really special to us in Soroptimists,” said Sarah.

“The United Nations always gives a theme for the day. And the theme this year is ‘Inspire Inclusion’… as well as that, we in Soroptimists have a national project, as we always do, and our project this year is about wellbeing. It’s the wellbeing of our members and the wellbeing that we can bring to the community… we were also aware of conversations happening about making Mullingar an inclusive environment in relation to dementia,” added Sarah.

Cathy McHale from the Institute of Memory and Cognition at Tallaght University told attendees that because two thirds of people with dementia are female, women have specific risks and need to be aware of them, and that girls should be educated on that. In addition, two thirds of those caring for people with dementia are also female.

Risk factors include hormonal changes, stress, high blood pressure, insufficient sleep, poor diet, excessive alcohol consumption, smoking, depression, social isolation, physical inactivity and hearing loss.

While highlighting the importance of awareness, Cathy stressed that cognitive deterioration begins years before symptoms emerge.

“I think people have a sense that, you know, if I stop smoking, I’ll be grand. Or the earlier smoking habits and the earlier alcohol and the earlier behaviours won’t make a difference… but actually it’s not the case… the early years are really important. And we can get in there early, we can make changes, and we can actually change the course of that person’s cognitive health,” said Cathy.

Fiona Foley, from the HSE National Dementia Office, spoke about the importance of creating dementia inclusive communities. She mentioned how cognitive decline “creates a lot of loneliness and isolation and anxiety for the person with dementia”.

“If we focus on the possibility of people with dementia instead of the limitations that they might experience, their dementia will disappear behind their talents and not the other way around. And one thing that we always say is to see the person and not the dementia,” said Fiona.

Kim Tully of Engaging Dementia talked about the resources her organisation provides for people with dementia and their carers. They including courses and therapeutic activities, as well as the Irish Dementia Café network. Kim announced that the 16th International Dementia Conference will be held in Mullingar. It takes place at Annebrook House Hotel on May 8 and 9. The afternoon of May 8 is free of charge and all are welcome to attend.

“Some people have told us that coming to a conference for two days can be quite stressful [for people with dementia]. So what we’ve decided is to open up the afternoon of the first day to the public. It’ll be open to anybody who’s interested in dementia, anyone who’s living with dementia, family members, etc,” said Kim.

Despite the serious subject matter, the energy in the room was overwhelmingly positive. The message was that women have the power to “dictate the health” of their “amazing brains” and prevent dementia, and that “it is never too early and never too late to make changes”.

Soroptimist International is a volunteer movement working together to transform the lives of women and girls with over 70,000 members in 121 countries. International Women’s Day is March 8 each year.