Dementia symptoms after the age of 40

While warning signs including memory problems or changes in mood are probably the best known signs of the brain condition, dementia can also present with certain lifestyle habits such as drinking. This is the finding of a study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

Even though lifetime alcohol abuse is a well-known risk factor for dementia, starting to abuse alcohol later in life could also play a role. The research explains that if a person begins to drink a problematic amount of alcohol as they get older, it could be a sign of a dementia onset.

The research team looked at 1,519 patients, diagnosed with neurological issues, such as Alzheimer's disease. They found that 2.2 percent of the participants were dealing with so-called late-onset alcohol abuse.

The researchers define this as an unhealthy amount of drinking after the age of 40. This finding led the team to linking alcohol abuse to certain neurological conditions. Georges Naasan, the senior author of the study said: "What we found is that alcohol abuse may be the first sign of an underlying neurological condition when it presents late in life.

"While it is important to identify social factors that may lead to alcohol abuse, such as retirement, loneliness, or loss of income/loved ones/housing, our data should implore health care workers to avoid systematically attributing alcohol abuse to these aspects."

Diana Buntajova