Diagnosis of dementia takes 3 years: Studies show why it is a problem
A new global study suggests that dementia is often delayed in three years in diagnosis. This delay often disrupts treatment access and highlights immediate needs for early identification strategies.
In short
- Diagnosis of dementia takes an average of 3.5 years worldwide
- Wait for more than 4 years for the diagnosis of initial-sugary dementia patients
- Small people and frontotemporal dementia cases face long -term delays
When we talk about dementia, it is one of the most frightening neurodenative diseases in the world. And, not to mention between the fastest growing neurological conditions. Known as a brain-skin, dementia is a umbrella word for a variety of symptoms that cause different brain disorders.
It also includes memory, thinking, logic, change in behavior and personality. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia.
But what is so terrible that it takes years to diagnose, in fact, on an average three years, a new study has been found in a new study.
Research led by University College London (UCL) found that people with dementia are often diagnosed after three years after symptoms, and delay for people with dementia of early onset is even longer, 4.1 years.
Published in the International Journal of Zeriatric Psychiatry, the study is the first systematic review of global data and meta-analysis that investigates how much time it usually takes to diagnose dementia.
Researchers reviewed the figures of 13 previous studies conducted in the US, Europe, Australia and China, covering 30,257 participants. He saw the average time between patients or their family members and the first symptoms seen by final medical diagnosis.
The study states how delay in diagnosis can affect patients and families, and why improve early detection should be a global priority.
The lead author of the UCL Division of Psychiatry, Dr. Wasilicki Yagate talked to Science Direct and said, “Timely diagnosis of dementia is a major global challenge, which is for the size of a complex set of factors, and specific healthcare is required to improve the strategies.
Researchers found that young people and people with frontotemporal dementia (changes in personality, behavior and language) experienced a prolonged delay in diagnosis.
One study also found that black patients were long waiting before diagnosis, although data on racial differences was limited.
Dr. also from UCL. Foung Leung explained why delays often occur: “Symptoms of dementia are often wrong for normal aging, while fear, stigma, and less public awareness can discourage people from seeking help.”
Although future mass studies can provide different estimates, according to the authors, their meta-analysis was based on moderate quality studies, giving us proper confidence in the conclusions reported.
To reduce the time it takes to diagnose dementia, it is necessary to understand social, clinical and health -related factors delaying diagnosis.
