Older Adults With Dementia Exhibit Financial 'Symptoms' Up to Six Years Before Diagnosis

A new study in JAMA Internal Medicine found Medicare beneficiaries who receive a dementia diagnosis are more likely to miss payments on bills as early as six years before diagnosis, reports ScienceDaily . Those diagnosed with dementia who had a lower educational status also missed payments on bills starting as early as seven years before diagnosis versus 2.5 years prior to a diagnosis for beneficiaries with more education. These missed payments and other adverse financial outcomes further elevate the risk of developing subprime credit scores. The heightened risk of payment delinquency with dementia constituted 5.2 percent of delinquencies among those six years before diagnosis, reaching a maximum of 17.9 percent nine months post-diagnosis. Rates of elevated payment delinquency and subprime credit risk lingered for up to 3.5 years after beneficiaries received diagnoses, suggesting a continuing need for assistance managing money. "Earlier screening and detection, combined with information about the risk of irreversible financial events, like foreclosure and repossession, are important to protect the financial well-being of the patient and their families," said Professor Lauren Hersch Nicholas with the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. "Our study is the first to provide large-scale quantitative evidence of the medical adage that the first place to look for dementia is in the checkbook."