Financial Capacity as an Alzheimer's Indicator?

Published recently in the New York Times, She Bought a Truck on eBay, Then Forgot It. A Dementia Diagnosis Came Later. discusses how a lack of financial capacity may be an indicator of dementia.

[M]oney troubles aren’t unusual among people who are beginning to experience cognitive decline. Long before they receive a dementia diagnosis, many people start losing their ability to manage their finances and make sound decisions as their memory, organizational skills and self-control falter, studies show. As people fall behind on their bills or make unwise purchases and investments, their bank balances and credit rating may take a hit.

The isolation that came from COVID may have allowed a number of cases to go undetected, since there wasn't the same level of interaction with folks. "Many older people have remained isolated from loved ones who might be the first to notice unpaid bills or unopened bank notices."  Check out the finding from one of the studies mentioned in the aticle

Another study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine in November, used data on Medicare claims and from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York/Equifax Consumer Credit Panel to track people’s credit card payments and credit scores. The study found that people with Alzheimer’s and related dementia were more likely to miss bill payments up to six years before their diagnosis than were people with no diagnosis. The researchers also noted that the people whose dementia was later diagnosed started to show subprime credit scores 2.5 years before the others.

Read this article---it's important!