Early Onset Dementia Symptoms and Diagnosis

A condition when someone experiences the deterioration of mental ability (particularly like decreased judgment, language, & memory) is a general definition of dementia. And talking about early onset dementia, it is usually the term used to represent a range of conditions (deterioration of mental functionalities) that can give effects to memory & thinking in individuals under 65 years of age. Then what are early onset dementia symptoms?

Read also about what are causes of dementia, before continuing!

Generally, as we get older then the risk of acquiring dementia is higher! Deterioration of mental functionality can affect about’ 1 in 14 people over 65 years of age’, which usually will rises steeply become ‘1 in 6 people over 80 years of age’.

Although dementia is relatively more common in 65-80 years of age or over but this doesn’t mean that it cannot occur in people under the age of 65. And as mentioned before, ‘early onset dementia’ is usually the term used to describe this condition. The diagnosis of this type is relatively more difficult than dementia in people ‘over 65’ or ‘over 85’ years of age.

Early onset dementia symptoms

Signs of early onset dementia are also serious, and even can affect to the daily lives of people with the disease. And the symptoms may include:

1. Drastically decreased short-term memory. It is one of the most common early symptoms. People with early onset dementia are more likely become difficult to concentrate.
2. Easily to get ‘quickly mood changes’ without unknown reason. Moreover, patient may also get more sadness & depression which will be getting worse (uncontrollable).
3. The next symptom may be an inappropriate behavior of their social behaviors! For example, without unknown reason patients may try to yell at strangers or even take off the clothes (in public areas). They also may get disorientation in place, time and person (their familiar people).
4. Then they may begin to get inability to control their body, particularly poor balance of their body. Therefore, they will fall easily & more frequently. This may be the reason why people with early onset dementia are more likely to be more inactive (more often just sit in ‘1’ place, like watching TV continuously without unclearly reason).
5. Easily to get fatigue and cannot handle their daily tasks that they can do before.
6. Even then patients may be difficult to express a simple communication.

Early onset dementia diagnosis

Unfortunately, generally the diagnosis can be made through a long process. To make a diagnosis of confirming early dementia, a patient will be consistently tested and monitored over time. During the monitoring, there may be some symptoms that are present & closely similar like symptoms in people with a brain tumor (physical condition), or people with a depression problem, which can be confused to make a diagnosis!

The symptoms of dementia are more likely to become worse, because dementia is a progressive disease that can lead to increasingly damage to the brain over time.  

This article is not purposed to replace the doctor’s advices. Therefore, don’t get directly to the conclusion! Talk with your doctor for more advices (more detailed information) about early onset dementia symptoms and diagnosis!

-- Image credit to ‘Getty Images’