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Falling behind on mortgage payments. Late to pay credit card bills. A declining credit score.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Years before people are diagnosed with dementia, they often begin facing these financial problems, new research<\/a> from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has found.\u00a0<\/p>\n Analyzing both U.S. credit score reports and Medicare data, the researchers found that in the five years before someone is diagnosed with dementia, they begin acting irresponsibly with their money. The magnitude of these payment delinquencies, combined with the long pre-diagnosis period during which they occur, is \u201cremarkable,\u201d the researchers wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough not everyone in early stage [Alzheimer\u2019s disease and related disorders] will experience a payment delinquency, for those who do, the scale of the change in delinquency is substantial,\u201d the researchers said.\u00a0<\/p>\n One year prior to diagnosis, average credit card debts increased by more than 50%, while mortgage debt increased by 11%, on average.\u00a0<\/p>\n These findings magnify an earlier breakthrough study<\/a> Johns Hopkins University researchers conducted in 2020, which found dementia patients can begin missing payments seven years prior to a diagnosis.\u00a0<\/p>\n Economist Joanne Hsu, a long-time researcher in this topic and one of the authors of that study, told Fortune<\/em> it was \u201creally exciting\u201d to have further research confirm what she said doctors have long known.\u00a0<\/p>\n Money management is \u201cthe first skill to decline\u201d with dementia<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWe think of Alzheimer\u2019s as something that affects your ability to recognize family members, or, do you remember where your keys are? Do you remember what room in the house you\u2019re in?\u201d Hsu said. \u201cActually, the first skill that declines with Alzheimer\u2019s disease is your ability to manage money, and so to be able to document that in the financial data is really important.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Mariel Deutsch, a neurologist specializing in neurodegenerative disorders, told Fortune <\/em>she often sees the first sign of decline occur in financial decision-making.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMany times, I\u2019ve heard people describe that the bills weren\u2019t paid, and it was only after some late fee or some phone call from the bank that the other unaffected spouse realized something was up,\u201d Deutsch said.<\/p>\n That\u2019s because financial planning and decision-making involve several cognitive skills that decline with dementia, Deutsch added. For seniors who haven\u2019t automated their finances, there are frequent opportunities to notice issues due to the regular nature of bill-paying and account management.<\/p>\n In one recent case, a patient\u2019s spouse noticed issues when the patient didn\u2019t resume paying bills after returning from a summer trip, breaking their usual patterns. Sometimes the alarm comes when a patient forgets how to write checks, puts amounts in the wrong spots, or does not fill them out completely.\u00a0<\/p>\n These warning signs are easy to miss, Deutsch added. Often, they are written off as a \u201csenior moment,\u201d or they\u2019ll blame it on depressive episodes, or an increase in stress.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes, all of us might forget to do something every now and then,\u201d Deutsch said.\u00a0<\/p>\n