World Alzheimer’s Day: Raising Awareness and Understanding of Alzheimer’s Disease
Updated: 5 days ago
World Alzheimer’s Day is observed on 21 September each year, but awareness has to mean more than knowing that Alzheimer’s exists.
It means understanding what Alzheimer’s is and what it is not. It means recognising changes that may warrant a conversation with a doctor rather than dismissing everything as “just getting old”. It means understanding why an earlier diagnosis can matter. And it means recognising that dementia affects not only memory, but independence, relationships, families and the way someone experiences everyday life.
Most importantly, awareness should help us respond differently: with knowledge instead of fear, support instead of stigma and respect for the person who is living with the disease.
The Significance of World Alzheimer’s Day
Dementia is an umbrella term for several diseases that affect memory, thinking and the ability to perform everyday activities. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, accounting for an estimated 60–70% of cases.
According to the World Health Organization, approximately 57 million people were living with dementia worldwide in 2021, with nearly 10 million new cases occurring each year. More than 60% of people living with dementia are in low- and middle-income countries.
And although dementia primarily affects older adults, it is important to remember that it is not a normal part of ageing.
That distinction matters. Forgetting something occasionally does not automatically mean someone has dementia. But persistent or worsening changes in memory, thinking, communication, behaviour or the ability to manage everyday life deserve attention.
Why An Earlier Diagnosis Matters
There can be understandable fear around seeking a diagnosis. Some people may worry about what the diagnosis will mean, how others will treat them or whether anything can be done.
But knowing earlier can create opportunities.
It can allow someone to access appropriate medical care and support, better understand the changes they are experiencing and involve the people they trust in planning for what may come next.
Importantly, it can also give the person living with dementia more opportunity to have a voice in their own future.
What do they want?
What do they not want?
Who do they trust to make decisions if there comes a time when they cannot?
What matters to them about where and how they live?
What are they afraid might happen?
A diagnosis may change the future someone imagined, but knowing what is happening can give them and their family more time to prepare for that future together.
Understanding Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurological condition that damages brain cells and gradually affects cognitive function. Memory difficulties are often associated with Alzheimer’s, but the disease can affect much more than someone's ability to remember.
Changes can occur in communication, reasoning, judgement, orientation, behaviour, mood and eventually the person's ability to perform everyday activities independently.
The causes of Alzheimer’s are complex and are believed to involve a combination of age, genetics, health, environmental and lifestyle factors.
Changes That May Occur With Alzheimer’s:
Memory Changes: Increasing difficulty remembering recent events, conversations, names or information.
Communication Difficulties: Struggling to find words, follow conversations or express thoughts.
Changes In Thinking And Judgement: Difficulty planning, solving problems, making decisions or managing finances.
Disorientation: Becoming confused about time or place, including becoming lost in familiar surroundings.
Changes In Behaviour Or Mood: Withdrawal, anxiety, agitation, apathy, suspiciousness or other noticeable changes.
Difficulty With Everyday Activities: Increasing difficulty completing tasks that were previously familiar.
Experiencing one of these occasionally does not necessarily mean someone has Alzheimer’s. What matters is whether changes are persistent, worsening or beginning to interfere with everyday life.
Other medical conditions can also cause cognitive symptoms, which is another reason assessment by a healthcare professional matters.
Alzheimer’s Affects More Than The Person Diagnosed
Alzheimer's disease not only affects those diagnosed but also has a profound impact on their families and caregivers.
As Alzheimer’s progresses, relationships and family roles can change considerably. Partners, children, siblings and other relatives may gradually take on increasing caregiving responsibilities, sometimes while coping with grief, exhaustion, financial pressure and difficult decisions of their own.
Reducing the Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease
While there is currently no cure for Alzheimer's, research suggests that certain lifestyle changes can reduce the risk of developing the disease or slow its progression. These include:
Healthy Diet: Consuming a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins, such as the Mediterranean diet, is associated with better brain health.
Regular Exercise: Physical activity improves blood flow to the brain and has been shown to reduce the risk of cognitive decline.
Mental Stimulation: Engaging in activities that challenge the brain, such as reading, puzzles, and learning new skills, helps maintain cognitive function.
Social Interaction: Staying socially connected is crucial for mental health and can reduce the risk of dementia.
Managing Health Conditions: Controlling conditions like hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol can lower the risk of Alzheimer's.
None of this means that someone who develops Alzheimer’s failed to live healthily enough. Age and genetics remain important risk factors, and people can do many things “right” and still develop dementia.
Risk reduction is about improving the odds, not guaranteeing the outcome.
Awareness Must Change How We Treat People
Awareness matters only if it changes something.
It should change the way we respond when someone begins struggling with memory.
It should make us less likely to joke about or dismiss cognitive changes.
It should reduce the shame that may prevent someone from seeking help.
It should remind us not to speak about someone with dementia as though they are no longer in the room.
And it should make us think seriously about the support available not only to people living with dementia, but to the family members and caregivers walking beside them.
Alzheimer’s can change enormously over time but a diagnosis does not erase someone's history, preferences, relationships, dignity or humanity.
Awareness Is Only The Beginning
World Alzheimer’s Day gives us an opportunity to talk about dementia, but the conversation cannot end on 21 September.
We need better understanding of what dementia looks like. We need people to feel able to seek help when something does not seem right. We need families to have conversations before difficult decisions are forced upon them. We need caregivers to be supported before they reach breaking point. And we need people living with Alzheimer’s to remain part of conversations about their own lives for as long as possible.
We may not be able to control everything Alzheimer’s changes but earlier knowledge can give people something valuable: time.
Time to ask questions.
Time to seek support.
Time to make choices.
Time to say what matters.
And time to remind the people around them:
I am still here.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to offer medical advice.
Want to keep reading?
→ Alzheimer's Changes So Much, But The Person Is Still There Personhood, dignity, communication, autonomy and connection.
→ Loving Someone Through Alzheimer's: The Grief, The Care And The Choices Nobody Prepares You For - Caregiver grief, family expectations, burnout, support and the difficult choices families may face.
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