Falling for Phone Scams Could Be an Early Sign of Dementia, Study Says

A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine noted older people exhibiting little to no awareness of possible telephone fraud were at greater risk for mild cognitive decline and, in some cases, Alzheimer's, reports CNN . These findings "would suggest that . . . many cognitively intact older people also may be at risk of financial and other forms of fraud and abuse and really sheds new light on the scope of this problem," said Rush University's Patricia Boyle. Study participants first filled out a "scam awareness questionnaire," and also completed traditional neuropsychological tests each year for about six years. Participants who died during the study period received postmortem brain analysis for signs of disease. A total of 16.1 percent of subjects developed Alzheimer's, while 34.2 percent developed mild cognitive impairment. Participants who showed low scam awareness at the study's beginning were at higher risk for Alzheimer's, dementia, or mild cognitive impairment. Low scores on the fraud consciousness test also were associated with Alzheimer's symptoms in the postmortem brain.