Dementia is  the leading cause of death for women, the second leading cause of death overall and the highest cause of morbidity in people aged 65 and over in Australia. Dementia is an umbrella term for a collection of symptoms. There are many different causes of dementia, in Australia, Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia accounting for about two-thirds of cases. 

We think of dementia as a disease of ageing however the neuropathological changes of dementia due to both Alzheimer's and/or vascular disease start some 20-30 years before symptoms appear. Health practitioners need to start recognising dementia as a chronic disease and aim to prevent or delay the onset of symptoms by supporting patients to address any of their modifiable risk factors. 

This activity will focus on dementia prevention in primary care and will involve:

• Sending a link to a standardised questionnaire (CogDrisk) aimed at calculating a risk profile and identifying modifiable risk factors for dementia to all your patients between age 45-65
• Inviting patients who would like to discuss the results and further possible action to make an appointment to see you for a discussion and possibly to develop a plan to address the risk factors identified
• Documenting 5 - 10 of these consultations and resulting clinical actions using the structured audit report provided within this activity
• Healthed will submit this on your behalf to the RACGP or ACRRM