An alarming study of people with early dementia don’t know the signs, according to a study.

Researchers at the University of Michigan looked at 300 people over 65 who scored low on cognitive tests, a sign they likely had dementia. 

The team asked the participants if anyone had ever diagnosed them with dementia. 

Of those, 80 percent claimed they had never been told they had dementia and didn’t know they showed the signs.  

The proportion was even higher among Mexican Americans, who made up most of the study population. The team found 85 percent of this group didn’t know they had dementia. 

The findings come as more research sheds light on the early signs of the disease, which afflicts 8million Americans.

While most people know memory loss is a clear sign of dementia, other early signs like having trouble planning events, keeping up with bills, and struggling to find the correct word are less obvious.

The researchers said these patients might not know they have dementia because their doctors don’t take enough time to screen them and aren’t trained to spot early signs.

A new study found 80 percent of patients with dementia don’t know they have it. Pictured is Wendy Williams, whose diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia was made public in 2023

Being unable to learn new tasks and struggling to stay focused on a single task can be a sign of dementia — the memory-robbing condition plaguing nearly 8million Americans

Dr Lewis Morgenstern, study author and professor of neurology, neurosurgery and emergency medicine at University of Michigan Medical School, said: ‘Dementia diagnosis unawareness is a public health issue that must be addressed.

‘The diagnosis of dementia provides the opportunity to seek out treatment and home care services to help both patients and caregivers. 

If the diagnosis is not given, or the understanding of the diagnosis is unclear, it is a missed opportunity.’

The researchers looked at 1,562 adults over 65 recruited through the Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi (BASIC) Cognitive study in Nueces County, Texas. 

Of those, 322 scored low enough on cognitive tests to be considered ‘probable dementia’ patients. 

The average participant age was 76, and 55 percent of adults surveyed were women. 

The team found that 81 percent of adults with probable dementia hadn’t been told they had the condition. 

For Mexican-Americans, this number rose to 85 percent. 

Additionally, just seven percent of patients with suspected dementia had a primary care physician, so their chance of being screened at a routine visit was lower.  

Josh Martins-Caulfield, first study author and medical student at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, said this knowledge gap could be due to the lack of a doctor-patient relationship. 

He said: ‘The physician may not be diagnosing the patient or may be withholding the diagnosis of dementia.

‘In practice, physicians often hesitate to diagnose dementia, citing reasons such as insufficient time with individual patients to conduct the screening process or not having dementia-specific training. 

‘The discomfort of providing the diagnosis may also lead them to wait for patients or family members to raise concerns about memory issues rather than initiating discussions proactively.’

Currently nearly 8million Americans currently have some form of dementia and there are around 500,000 new cases diagnosed per year. 

Diagnoses are also expected to rise from 60,000 in 2020 to 179,000 per year by 2060. 

While the main cause of the dementia is still debated, scientists believe the disease is likely to be the result of an abnormal build-up of proteins – amyloid and tau – in and around brain cells. 

Possible signs include memory loss, confusion, having trouble finding the right, difficulty completing previously simple tasks, mood changes, and poor judgment.

There were several limitations to the new study, with the main one being relying on self-reported data, which could be subject to bias. 

The population being centered around one county could also lead to a less diverse sample size. 

The study was published Tuesday in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.