GOVERNMENT Senator and psychiatrist Dr Sapphire Longmore, in appealing for members of the Jamaica Psychiatric Association to be included in the deliberations of the special select committee of the Senate mulling legislative protection for Jamaica’s senior citizens, says the issues of mental wellness and dementia amongst that population cannot be avoided.

“We tend to seem to skirt around the very significant impact of not just dementia but mental wellness challenges that our elderly population face; at that time there is significant depression, and long-term effects of trauma, etcetera. You have persons who have interest in Alzheimer’s research, dementia research who are aligned with the association,” Longmore said on Wednesday during the inaugural meeting of the special select committee.

In batting for their involvement, the consultant psychiatrist continued, “We are finding in the medical space that dementia in Jamaica is almost becoming what we call Type 3 diabetes. That is what the latest research is showing. I say this to say that dementia doesn’t start after 65; the processes occur prior to that and so we need to have the measures in place before the age that we are recognising as the direct point of effect. So I would want for us to have those persons who can contribute to the awareness of such preventative measures so we can seek to address it preventatively,” she stated.

Type 3 diabetes is a term used by some researchers to describe the theory that insulin resistance and insulin-like growth factor dysfunction in the brain may cause Alzheimer’s disease. Some research studies have suggested that Alzheimer’s disease should also be classified as a type of diabetes, called type 3 diabetes. However, type 3 diabetes is not currently an official medical term and is not recognised by national health organisations or the American Diabetes Association.

According to the National Institute of Health, the exact connection between Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and type 2 diabetes is still in debate. However, poorly controlled blood sugar may increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s. This relationship is so strong that some have called Alzheimer’s “diabetes of the brain” or “type 3 diabetes (T3D)”.

At Wednesday’s sitting of the committee, Opposition Senator Dr Floyd Morris, who had moved the Private Member’s Motion resulting in the formation of the committee, in sharing that a relative of his who has been suffering from dementia has been missing from last Monday, said, “That is one of the reasons I am going to be very relentless in pushing for this legislation”.

He, in the meantime, said at the head of the queue of invitees to address the committee must be Professor Denise Eldemire-Shearer, executive director of the Mona Ageing and Wellness Centre, who has done extensive work on the welfare of the elderly as well as representatives of the Caribbean Community for Retired Persons, the Council for Senior Citizens as well as the Bankers’ Association.

Meanwhile, Opposition Senator Sophia Frazer-Binns said the input of members of the Medical Association of Jamaica was also necessary “because the general practitioner really, in so many ways, is the first point of contact when it comes on to any medical issue the elderly has to deal with”.

She further recommended that the committee should rely on the guidance of the Jamaican Bar Association given that “there are so many different pieces of legislation that touch and concern our elderly”.

In also calling for feedback from the Household Workers’ Association, given that the care of the elderly is often in the hands of their members, Frazer-Binns said insurance companies should also be part of the conversation.

The motion, originally tabled in 2021 when Morris served as the spokesperson on labour and social security, was approved by the Senate in October this year. The special select committee, which will deliberate on the scope and details to be included in the legislation, will prepare a report for the Senate’s consideration before it proceeds to Cabinet.

Speaking on the motion in October Senator Morris said, “This is a significant development; our senior citizens, numbering over 350,000 and comprising 13.2 per cent of our population, represent a vital part of our society. They are also our largest voting block.”