Financial difficulties can be a harbinger of dementia (Image: Getty)
Whilst memory loss is the most widely recognised symptom of dementia, experts also highlight another early warning sign: money troubles. Someone with dementia might begin making questionable financial decisions long before any memory loss becomes apparent.
Financial problems frequently emerge before the cognitive decline typically associated with the condition. The brain changes that accompany dementia can result in poor money management, including accumulating debt or neglecting bills.
University of California, San Francisco neurology professor Dr Winston Chiong underscored the complexity of financial management as an early indicator of dementia.
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Speaking to the New York Times, he explained: “One of the reasons why financial mismanagement can be a sensitive indicator is just because it’s so complicated.”
Dementia and financial problems
As the condition takes hold, individuals may still manage straightforward financial tasks such as paying bills. The Alzheimer’s Society explains that more intricate decisions such as switching utility providers or managing investments might present a considerable challenge.
According to the National Institute of Aging in the US, studies have demonstrated financial difficulties are “one of the first noticeable signs of the disease”.
In 2024, researchers published a study that looked at how undiagnosed memory disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, affected credit scores in the US. What they saw was that credit scores dropped whilst missed payments increased in the years preceding a diagnosis.
“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.”
Poor money management can precede dementia (Image: Getty)
“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.”
The National Institute of Aging listed the following signs:
- 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 uncommon form of dementia, and those diagnosed with FTD can encounter financial difficulties at a very early stage. This presents itself as reckless shopping behaviour or vulnerability to fraudulent schemes.
Trouble understanding a bank statement can be a warning sign (Image: Getty)
Dr Chiong noted that FTD patients are particularly vulnerable to “different kinds of manipulation” or demonstrate tendencies towards being “more likely to be wasteful with money or careless with money”.
He said: “People with frontotemporal dementia are less sensitive to potential negative consequences.”
The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration states individuals with FTD may fall prey to financial fraud, develop problematic gambling behaviours, neglect bills, avoid tax obligations, spend recklessly resulting in debt, lose employment, or, if self-employed, run their enterprise poorly.
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.”
Early dementia symptoms
Dementia’s cognitive changes are more broadly recognised. The NHS says: “Different types of dementia can affect people differently, and everyone will experience symptoms in their own way.”
The NHS has listed some common early signs to recognise that precede 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