9 Early Signs of Dementia That Aren’t Memory Loss

Dementia is thought to affect almost a million people in the UK, although the Alzheimer’s Society said “more than a third of people with the condition do not have a diagnosis”.

In fact, a study from University College London found that it typically takes 3.5 years to diagnose dementia after symptoms appear. For people with early-onset dementia (that which occurs before age 65), this figure rises to 4.1 years.

And with one in ten British adults unable to name a single symptom of dementia, it’s worth remembering that its earliest symptoms can involve much more than memory loss – although this remains its best-known sign.

“Eye problems may be one of the first signs of cognitive decline,” said an article in The Conversation, whose author co-authored an article on the subject.

It was associated with a higher risk of dementia 12 years before diagnosis. Experts think this could be because sticky bundles of abnormal protein fragments called amyloid plaques, which have long been associated with dementia, might cluster near the part of your brain primarily responsible for vision.

That’s not to say that noticing changes in your eyesight definitely means you’ll have dementia, and researchers aren’t sure how one relates to the other. However, it seems that around 60% of us have no idea this connection exists.

Alzheimer Scotland said “people often assume that memory loss and dementia are one and the same, but there are other key symptoms and signs to look out for.”

Slips and trips could become more common, they added, including a person “shuffling like (opposed) to raising their legs when walking,” which could make going up and down stairs more difficult.

During this time, changes in walking pace and gait can be considered a potential early sign of cognitive decline.

In his book How to Prevent Dementia, neurologist Dr. Richard Restak said that apraxia, or an inability to perform “focused, highly practiced actions despite normal muscle strength and tone,” is “a sign that something is wrong.”

It’s not about not being able to remember the order of daily events or being too weak to do them. The problem lies in the correct connection and order of all actions and thoughts.

“A person with apraxia may be able to recognize and even name a toothbrush and toothpaste, but may be unable to perform the act (praxis) of squeezing the toothpaste onto the toothbrush,” Dr. Restak added.

Or, they might have trouble putting the brush in their mouth and scrubbing – “All the muscle components are present but cannot be coordinated.”

Researchers believe voice changes may “represent a more powerful early biomarker than hearing loss alone” (new hearing problems have also been associated with this condition).

The paper, published in the Journal of Voice, found that people with a voice disorder and no hearing loss appeared to be 58% more likely to develop dementia than those without it – but having both a voice disorder and hearing loss presented the greatest risk.

However, again, it is difficult to determine whether voice changes are a sign of dementia, contribute to causing it, or are related to another reason.

Another study from the University of Chicago found that “a rapid decline in a person’s sense of smell during a period of normal cognition predicts multiple features of Alzheimer’s disease, including lower gray matter volume in areas of the brain related to smell and memory, poorer cognition, and a higher risk of dementia.”

Meanwhile, a 2017 paper suggested that people unable to identify at least four out of five smells were about twice as likely to develop dementia as those who could.

A paper related to this research noted that loss of smell is not part of our “exposome,” nor is it a disease or social structure. Therefore, he argues, “the only plausible way to associate it with dementia is to define it as an early sign of the disease, present before the appearance of other cognitive impairments.”

The NHS has listed mood changes on its list of ‘common early symptoms’.

People with this condition may become irritable, angry, less motivated, apathetic, and act outside the boundaries of social norms – even if they didn’t do so before.

The health service website also states that people with early-onset dementia may have difficulty with everyday tasks “such as not knowing which currency to choose when shopping”.

Dr. Restak also spoke about this. In his book, he explains that mild cognitive impairment (MCI), sometimes considered a precursor to dementia, can mean that an affected person “can go to and from the supermarket… but must write a shopping list; nor can she remember, as was the case before, which aisle a particular grocery item is in.”

The important thing here is that someone loses a skill they previously mastered.

Writing in Nature, cognitive neuroscientist Dr Adolfo M García said that while some language changes are normal in “healthy” aging, others could be an early sign of dementia.

Speaking previously to HuffPost UK, he said changes specific to Alzheimer’s disease “can begin several years before the main symptoms of dementia appear.”

He added: “The key problem is not just slowing down, but also loss of words and meaning. People may struggle to name everyday objects, use more vague or incorrect words, or confuse meanings (for example, calling a ‘chair’ a ‘table’). Their speech may become less coherent and more difficult to follow.

And while “normal aging” can lead to “delayed treatment with preserved or increased knowledge,” the expert goes on to say that dementia “affects what we actually know and can express.”

“Vocabulary knowledge is the area most clearly distinguished between healthy aging and Alzheimer’s disease, as it increases in the former and is markedly reduced in the latter.”

People with early-onset dementia may also have difficulty following conversations.

Finally, people with early-onset dementia may also often be confused, especially regarding when and where.

It can sometimes feel like delirium, but dementia-related confusion usually lasts longer and develops more slowly. However, they can occur simultaneously.

However, as with all other entries on this list, confusion does not necessarily mean you have dementia.

If you think you or someone close to you may have signs of this condition, talk to a GP. Not only could these signs be caused by something else worth investigating, but if dementia is the cause, early intervention may provide better support.