we all forget things as we get older. many older people have a slight loss of memory that does not affect their daily lives. but memory loss that gets worse may mean that you have dementia. dementia is a loss of mental skills that affects your daily life. it can cause problems with your memory and how well you can think and plan. usually dementia gets worse over time. how long this takes is different for each person. some people stay the same for years. others lose skills quickly. your chances of having dementia rise as you get older. but this does not mean that everyone will get it. people rarely have dementia before age 60. but after age 85 up to half of all adults have it. if you or a loved one has memory loss that is getting worse see your doctor. it may be nothing to worry about. if it is dementia treatment may help. webmd medical reference from healthwise this information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor. healthwise disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information. © 1995-2011 healthwise incorporated. healthwise healthwise for every health decision and the healthwise logo are trademarks of healthwise incorporated.
what is dementia?