Short answers, pulled from the story.
Dementia is a syndrome characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform everyday activities. It typically involves problems with memory, thinking, behavior, and motor control alongside emotional problems and difficulties with language.
The course of dementia is often described in three major stages: early, middle, and late. These stages show a pattern of progressive cognitive and functional impairment while the Global Deterioration Scale uses seven stages in the development of dementia.
Vascular dementia accounts for at least 20% of dementia cases making it the second most common type after Alzheimer's. Vascular dementia is caused by disease or injury affecting the blood supply to the brain typically involving a series of mini-strokes.
Fourteen risk factors for dementia exist today including high blood pressure smoking obesity depression and physical inactivity. The two most modifiable risk factors for dementia are physical inactivity and lack of cognitive stimulation.
The number of cases of dementia worldwide in 2021 was estimated at 57 million with close to 10 million new cases each year. It is the seventh leading cause of death with some 1.8 million lost lives in 2021.