Dementia is on the rise, and it’s set to continue.
According to statistics from the Alzheimer’s Society, approximately 982,000 in the UK are currently living with dementia; a number estimated to increase to 1.4 million by 2040.
It’s an eye-opening statistic. And while there are things you can do to decrease your risk of developing dementia, such as eating a balanced diet and quitting smoking, there’s no guaranteed way to ward off all types of dementia.
And once you include the dementia risk factors that it isn’t possible to change – including age and genetic markers – a much greater emphasis is placed on the need to identify the disease and seek diagnosis or treatment.
But people aren’t always aware of the early warning signs of dementia, often dismissing them as forgetfulness, overlapping symptoms from other conditions, or even as an expected part of growing older.
It doesn’t help that depictions of dementia in pop culture frequently reduce the disease to its more widely known symptoms, further obscuring the reality of the condition.
The biggest problem with this, of course, is that if people don’t recognise early signs of dementia, the disease will spread without the right support being in place.
With that in mind, we’ve pulled together several major early warning signs of dementia, ranging from memory problems to difficulty with everyday communication.
But before we explore the symptoms, let’s take a moment to understand why spotting the early signs of dementia is so important, and why a formal diagnosis is vital.
Why is spotting the early symptoms of dementia so important?
Like any illness, spotting dementia early is vital.
Aside from being able to understand and address the often-frightening symptoms of the condition, early recognition can lead to a timely diagnosis.
And a formal diagnosis is the bedrock upon which a person’s care is built. There’s no one-size-fits-all type of dementia, and everyone’s experience of the disease will be, to some degree, unique. It’s important that treatment is tailored, unique to the individual.
They may not always reach the headlines, but researchers are making incredible breakthroughs on dementia, and those breakthroughs shape dementia treatments, which can slow the spread of the disease and improve the everyday wellbeing of people living with the condition.
But doctors can’t treat what they don’t know exists. And while it can be frightening to contemplate, the right dementia care – especially as the condition progresses – can be life-changing, helping people to live fuller, happier lives for longer.
Accessing the right care, both practical and emotional, is vital in the fight against dementia, and it all starts with understanding the early signs of the condition, which, as we’ve discussed, are easy to overlook and often chalked up to other factors.
1. Memory problems
While it’s often the symptom that dementia is reduced to, a significant number of people dismiss memory problems as typical age-related forgetfulness; something to be expected as we grow older.
And while it’s true that ageing impacts memory, age-related memory issues are often relatively innocent, such as temporarily forgetting names and dates.
The memory problems associated with dementia are much more disruptive and take a toll on a person’s everyday life, and can even lead to problems at work,
There’s no checklist of ‘things people with dementia forget’, and everyone’s experience is different, but common signs of dementia memory problems include forgetting important dates and repeating the same questions, with no recollection of asking them.
In some cases, it may include less obvious memory issues, such as frequently misplacing household items or struggling to follow storylines in films and TV shows.
However they present, memory issues are a common early symptom of dementia and should be taken very seriously.
2. Mood and personality changes
In a 2017 YouGov Survey on dementia awareness, 81% of respondents were able to identify memory loss as a symptom of dementia but didn’t know the disease can impact a person’s mood and behaviour.
But personality changes in dementia are a genuine, often upsetting symptom of the disease that can be dismissed as agitation or a build-up of everyday frustrations.
As you can imagine, it isn’t a one-size-fits-all thing, either. The mood swings and personality changes associated with the early stages of dementia are often subtle, easy to write off as someone being ‘difficult’ or ‘having a bad day.’
But the truth is far more complex.
Someone in the early stages of dementia may become anxious or frustrated when they’re taken out of their routine or a familiar environment. They may also seem more suspicious of others, perhaps even paranoid.
It can be difficult to determine what’s typical age-related personality change and what’s an early warning sign of dementia, so it’s worth paying close attention to your loved one if you notice them more frequently behaving in a way that seems out of character.
For example, it’s understandable if an older person becomes irritated that their usual routine is disrupted – the older we get, the more we rely on established routines – but someone becoming enraged by the disruption could be a sign of dementia.
3. Issues with spatial awareness
As with many early signs of dementia, issues with spatial awareness are easily dismissed as just getting a little clumsier as we age. It’s normal, we’re told—nothing to worry about.
And while it is true that issues with spatial awareness are more common in older people and can even be related to deteriorating vision, they’re still worth paying attention to, especially if they seem out of the blue or co-occur with other early dementia symptoms.
In many cases, dementia-related spatial awareness issues present as difficulty with balance or judging distance, which can mean people bump into furniture more frequently, or even struggle to keep a safe distance from other vehicles when driving.
They may also affect a person’s ability to judge depth and identify shapes, making steps, stairs or patterned floors a challenging, even disorienting experience.
4. Difficulty with communication
While many of the first signs of dementia are subtle and difficult to distinguish from typical ageing, the communication issues associated with dementia can be stark and instantly noticeable, especially if someone is usually a confident speaker.
They can vary, and, as always, there’s no fixed set of communication issues that’ll be universal to everyone in the early stages of dementia, so it’s worth considering a person’s usual conversational rhythms and turns of phrase.
If you notice someone taking more frequent pauses or struggling to find the right words to express themselves, it may be an early sign of dementia.
Similarly, someone having trouble putting together cogent, focused sentences and frequently going off on unrelated tangents could indicate an underlying issue.
5. Poor judgment
Everyone makes a bad decision at some point, especially when in high-pressure situations or uncertain environments. It’s a normal, unavoidable part of life.
But frequent instances of decreased or poor judgment can be an early indicator of dementia, particularly if these instances seem unusual, such as not dressing appropriately for the weather or paying less attention to personal grooming.
Judgment issues may also impact a person’s acuity in less obvious ways, including being careless with money (i.e. over- or underspending) or falling for scams when they’re usually quite savvy with their financial security.
It’s worth noting that in many cases a person won’t realise that their judgment is impaired and become embarrassed or agitated when they’re asked about it.
What to do if you’re worried you may have dementia
If you’re worried that you or someone you know is showing early signs of dementia, your first port of call should be the GP, who’ll be able to run tests to rule out other conditions that can mimic early-stage dementia.
A GP can also make any necessary referrals to specialist teams to run more focused diagnostic tests and provide practical, person-focused advice.
Need more information on dementia? Check out our help and guidance section, where you’ll find articles on everything from sundowning in dementia to personality changes in dementia.