Dementia is best defined as:

Dementia is best defined as:

• A. A temporary decline in cognitive function
• B. An overall decline in intellectual function impairing daily life
• C. A type of acute mental illness
• D. A condition that affects only memory

Answer: (B)

Dementia describes a chronic, progressive decline in cognitive abilities that interferes with daily living, across multiple domains such as memory, language, thinking, and problem-solving. This ongoing decline, not a temporary blip, leads to increasing difficulty with everyday activities and independence. It’s not an acute mental illness, and it’s not limited to memory—people with dementia can struggle with many cognitive skills, not just remembering things. The other options don’t fit as well because a temporary decline isn’t characteristic of dementia, an acute mental illness describes something sudden and short-term, and limiting the impact to memory ignores the broader cognitive problems that dementia typically involves.

Dementia describes a chronic, progressive decline in cognitive abilities that interferes with daily living, across multiple domains such as memory, language, thinking, and problem-solving. This ongoing decline, not a temporary blip, leads to increasing difficulty with everyday activities and independence. It’s not an acute mental illness, and it’s not limited to memory—people with dementia can struggle with many cognitive skills, not just remembering things.

The other options don’t fit as well because a temporary decline isn’t characteristic of dementia, an acute mental illness describes something sudden and short-term, and limiting the impact to memory ignores the broader cognitive problems that dementia typically involves.