"I want to remain independent as long as possible," is septuagenarian Dola Banerjee’s only wish. Stricken with Parkinson’s a decade back, the 78-year-old Dola needs a cane to help her walk.
It does not stop her from taking regular walks in Lodi Garden in Delhi. An extrovert, she meets up with friends thrice a week and catches a film once a week.
She admits that keeping her routines is no longer that easy. “My memory is not what it used to be. My movements have become slower,” she rues. To ensure that she exercises both mind and body, her daughter bought her an iPad and installed cognitive or brain-training apps.
Cognitive training has seen a surge in popularity in recent years, thanks to an ageing population worried about dementia.
Alzheimer’s disease got its name in 1906 but took about 70 years to be recognised as a common cause of dementia and death.
Dementia India report by the Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India notes that the country had 4.1 million patients in 2017, whose rate will double by 2035—the third highest in the world, after China and the US.
The number of afflicted is expected to triple worldwide by 2050 to 152 million, according to the World Health Organization. However, in India where mental issues are taboo, the disease largely goes untreated and a tiny fraction is formally diagnosed or treated.
Consumers worldwide spent an estimated USD 1.9 billion on digital brain health and neurotechnology apps in 2018 alone—a fourfold increase from USD 475 million in 2012, according to global data from SharpBrains, an independent market research firm.
Mumbai-based neuro physician Sumitra K Bijapurkar says, “Awareness about brain-fitness courses is lacking in India. A set of computer-based or smartphone-based exercises can help people learn or relearn many practical life lessons. We believe that computer games are only for kids, but they can help senior adults to regain cognitive abilities.”
The most alarming type of dementia is Alzheimer’s. There are no drugs available today to cure dementia. The only option available, according to Archana Madaan, a senior care specialist in Delhi, is making lifestyle changes.
“Recently, a patient in her early-60s came to me with hearing problems. Examination showed that she was slowly moving towards Alzheimer’s,” she says. As was the case with her patient, family members are unwilling to accept the diagnosis. “In such scenarios, apps are a godsend. Almost everyone today is tech-savvy. Such technology can help seniors overcome dementia-related problems. The disease, once it sets in, won’t go away, but apps can help the sufferers to relearn crucial life skills.”
According to a 2018 report by HelpAge India, the country’s elderly population is expected to increase to 12.5 per cent and 20 per cent by 2026 and 2050 respectively.
The time has arrived for technology to be used as a leveller to make life more comfortable for senior citizens with mental afflictions.