A financial tool that millions of Americans rely on, known as a credit score, may be hiding a sinister secret about brain health, experts warn.
A new study from the New York Federal Reserve and Georgetown University has found a disturbing link between declining credit scores and the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD).
The research, which analyzed data from more than 2.4 million Americans between 2000 and 2017, found that credit scores begin to weaken a staggering five years before an official dementia diagnosis.
The study also revealed a number of other financial warning signs, such as mortgage delinquencies beginning to increase three years before diagnosis.
Delinquent credit card balances also skyrocket by more than 50 percent just one year before diagnosis. This is likely because people with the degenerative brain disease forget to pay their bills on time.
A financial tool that millions of Americans rely on, known as a credit score, may be hiding a sinister secret about brain health, experts warn
And delinquent mortgage balances are 11 percent higher a year before diagnosis.
Researchers estimate that a staggering 600,000 crimes will occur due to undiagnosed ADRD over the next decade.
“Our findings support the potential utility of credit report data in facilitating early identification of those at risk for memory disorders,” the researchers wrote.
Wilbert van der Klaauw, economic research adviser at the New York Federal Reserve, said CBS That family members should be alert.
“It’s important for family and friends to realize this is happening before diagnosis, so they can take a more comprehensive look at the finances and payment decisions older adults may make.”
A new study from the New York Federal Reserve and Georgetown University has found a disturbing link between declining credit scores and the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD).
Relatives should be on the lookout for situations like: ‘Does this person suddenly have new credit cards?’, the economist advised.
Dementia affects approximately 15 percent of American adults age 70 or older and 5.8 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s and related dementias.
In June, researchers revealed that people are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s if their mother has been diagnosed with the disease, compared to if their father has had it.
The study suggested that those whose parents were diagnosed with the degenerative disease early (before age 65) may also be at higher risk of developing the disease than the average patient.
Researchers in Massachusetts made the discovery after analyzing brain scans of 4,400 adults with an average age of 70 and no cognitive impairment.
A study suggests that you are more likely to develop dementia if your mother had the disease at some point in her life.
Each brain was examined for amyloid plaques, a toxic protein buildup thought to be a precursor to Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia.
Researchers found that those with higher levels of plaques in their brains tended to have a family history of the disease on their mother’s side.
However, higher-than-average levels of amyloid were also seen in the brains of those whose parents were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at age 65 or younger.
Amyloid plaques are thought to trigger the disease by disrupting communications between brain cells, preventing the organ from functioning properly.
