An early warning sign wouldn’t be the first dementia symptom you’d think of
While memory loss stands as the most widely recognised symptom of dementia, experts also highlight another early warning sign: money problems. Before the cognitive decline typically linked with the condition, financial troubles often emerge.
Someone with dementia might begin making poor financial decisions well before any memory loss becomes apparent. Changes in the brain accompanying dementia can result in poor money management, including falling into debt or failing to keep up with regular payments.
Dr Winston Chiong, a neurology professor at the University of California, San Francisco, emphasised the complexity of financial management as a crucial factor in why it can serve as an early warning for dementia.
“One of the reasons why financial mismanagement can be a sensitive indicator is just because it’s so complicated,” he told The New York Times.
A study published in 2024 examined the effect of undiagnosed memory disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, on credit scores in the US. In the years before diagnosis, researchers found that credit scores dropped and missed payments increased.
“Most memory disorders aren’t diagnosed until symptoms are severe, yet, given the progressive nature of disease, cognitive decline usually starts many years prior,” said study author Carole Roan Gresenz, a health economist at Georgetown University.
“The earliest changes in cognition might not be noticeable by family members and friends, but may be quietly compromising financial decision-making.”
Early dementia warning signs
Dementia’s cognitive changes are better understood. The NHS states: “Different types of dementia can affect people differently, and everyone will experience symptoms in their own way.”
The NHS has outlined some common early indicators to watch for that appear before a formal diagnosis:
- Memory loss
- Difficulty concentrating
- Finding it hard to carry out familiar daily tasks, such as getting confused over the correct change when shopping
- Struggling to follow a conversation or find the right word
- Being confused about time and place
- Mood changes
Dementia and financial struggles
Money troubles can act as an early warning sign of dementia. As the illness develops, individuals may still manage straightforward financial tasks such as settling bills.
The Alzheimer’s Society notes that more intricate decisions like changing utility providers or managing investments might prove problematic. According to the National Institute of Aging in the US, studies have revealed financial difficulties are “one of the first noticeable signs of the disease”.
“As the disease gets worse, the person may try to hide financial problems to protect their independence. Or the person may not realise that they are losing the ability to handle money matters.”
Several examples highlighted by the National Institute of Aging include:
- Unopened and unpaid bills
- Lots of new purchases on a credit card bill
- Unexpected new merchandise in the home
- Money missing from the person’s bank account
They continued: “Look for signs of money problems such as trouble counting change, paying for a purchase, calculating a tip, balancing a chequebook, or understanding a bank statement.”
Early warning of a rare type of dementia
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is an rare form of dementia. Those with FTD can encounter financial difficulties remarkably early. This presents itself as reckless spending binges or susceptibility to scams.
Dr Chiong noted that FTD patients are particularly vulnerable to “different kinds of manipulation” or have a tendency towards being “more likely to be wasteful with money or careless with money”.
“People with frontotemporal dementia are less sensitive to potential negative consequences,” he said.
The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration states that individuals with FTD may fall prey to financial fraud, cultivate obsessive gambling behaviours, ignore bills, dodge tax obligations, splash out recklessly incurring debt, forfeit employment, or, should they operate their own business, run it into the ground.
The organisation stated: “Because FTD is often a young-onset dementia, most commonly occurring between ages 45 and 64, families impacted are either going deeper into debt (like paying off a house, or student loans) or trying to save for retirement.”
