Beyond Forgetfulness: 5 Surprising Early Warning Signs of Pre-Dementia You Need to Know
Only forgetfulness makes prediction difficult
Having trouble managing your finances?
Have your driving skills decreased?
Do you often hear that things have changed?
Check out the list of 5 threats
A man in the Netherlands goes to a nursing hospital to see his wife who has dementia. [사진=로이터연합]
“Oh my God, I forgot. “I think it’s dementia.”
As we age, everyone worries about dementia (Alzheimer’s disease). The most common “reason” for suspicion is forgetfulness. However, experts suggest that you need to check for additional symptoms beyond forgetfulness.
On the 26th (local time), the American newspaper New York Times (NYT), citing neurological and cognitive behavioral experts, presented a list of five pre-dementia symptoms, including forgetfulness.
1. Are there any financial problems?
Dementia patients may have financial problems or their credit scores decline years before symptoms appear.
If you experience symptoms such as frequent impulse purchases, exposure to financial fraud, or forgetting to pay bills, symptoms of pre-dementia may be suspected.
“Frontotemporal dementia affects judgment,” said Winston Chiong, a professor of neurology at the University of California. “It can make it difficult to maintain your finances.”
2. Do you have sleep problems?
As you get older, it’s natural to go to bed early and wake up early. Problems related to reduced sleep quality are also normal.
However, if the extreme form occurs suddenly with frequency and reaches the level of sleep disturbances, it may be a symptom of dementia.
For example, if you experience drastic changes, such as automatically opening your eyes at 3 a.m. or continuing to fall asleep throughout the day, there is a problem.
Joe Wiener, professor of neurology and neuroscience at Stanford University, said: “Areas such as the brain stem, which regulates the sleep and wake cycle, are the first to be affected by Alzheimer’s disease.”
Frequent sleep behavior disorders and sleep paralysis also indicate a risk of dementia.
![[사진=로이터연합]](https://pimg.mk.co.kr/news/cms/202409/29/news-p.v1.20240927.6c9d5ab4624f4a9a99b2fea063faf3e6_P1.jpg "Beyond Forgetfulness: 5 Surprising Early Warning Signs of Pre-Dementia You Need to Know")
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3. Has your personality or disposition suddenly changed?
If you hear people around you saying that you have suddenly “changed,” it could be a warning sign of dementia.
Typical characteristics are reduced extroversion, lack of empathy and greater distrust of others.
It is necessary to check whether outings or social activities have decreased in daily life.
A behavioral sciences professor at Florida State University explained: “These changes are linked to a decrease in the volume of the brain’s prefrontal cortex, which is a common feature of dementia.”
4. Has there been an increase in sudden braking while driving a vehicle?
Ganesh Bubla, an associate professor of neurology at the University of Washington, said, “Driving is the ultimate coordination of the cognitive system,” and added, “Cognitive impairment emerges in the form of sudden braking or increased sharp turns.”
If you are reluctant to drive on rainy, snowy, foggy days, at night or during rush hour when there are many cars, this is something to think about.
5. Do you have difficulty smelling?
Dementia patients are said to gradually lose their sense of smell years or, in severe cases, decades before onset.
This is because when nerves begin to degenerate, the first area of the brain to be damaged is the area responsible for smell.
The symptoms are more diverse than you might think. In some cases, people simply can’t smell well, and in other cases they smell the same smell but misrecognize what it is.
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