Although the risk for dementia increases with age and generally affects older people, an estimated 200,000 people in the US younger than 65 are living with dementia. Early-onset dementia, also called working age-onset and younger-onset, is attributed to Alzheimer’s disease in about one-third of cases.
Other types of dementia that are common in younger people include:
- Frontotemporal dementia
- Vascular dementia
- Korsakoff’s syndrome
- Lewy body dementia
- Huntington’s disease
Symptoms of dementia may also appear in young people due to cooccurring conditions or issues, including thyroid disorders, medication side effects and interactions, brain tumors, or subdural hematomas - but these symptoms can be reversed if identified and properly treated.
Specific Issues of Early Onset Dementia
As symptoms of dementia occur before the age of 65 and can, very rarely, be as early as the mid-thirties, younger people with dementia have a number of very specific issues. Most, if not all, will be employed and will have financial commitments such as mortgages. They may have young families. They will probably be fit and active. Specifically, they may struggle to find a specialist service that is equipped for the needs of early-onset dementia.
Diagnosis and Support
Relatively few specialist services exist for younger people with dementia.
One of the first problems for younger people with Alzheimer’s disease is confusion over diagnosis. Often the early symptoms of dementia can appear similar to depression, for example. As symptoms develop the family doctor has to make a decision about where to turn for more specialist advice. Depending on where you live you may then be referred to a psychiatrist, a geriatrician, a neurologist or various combinations of health professionals.
Specialist groups like the Alzheimer’s Association campaign for better services and are able to provide support and advice for young men and women with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia.
