Research: Many Seniors with Memory Loss Skip Assessment

General studies have revealed that developing Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias is the top fear among older adults. In spite of that – and the fact that dementia screening is now available through Medicare – the majority of seniors  have not been to a doctor for evaluation, according to a University of Michigan study.

Researchers say their study suggests that as many as 1.8 million Americans over the age of 70 with dementia are not evaluated for cognitive symptoms by a medical provider, which in some patients, unfortunately, can lead to a failure to uncover treatable causes of thinking or memory impairment.

The study, published online in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, documents a clear lack of clinical testing for seniors with signs of cognitive problems. The study included people with mild cognitive impairment through severe dementia, from all causes.  “Early evaluation and identification of people with dementia may help them receive care earlier,” says study author Vikas Kotagal, M.D., M.S., an assistant professor in the U-M Medical School’s Department of Neurology. 

The data in the study precede the start of Medicare’s free annual wellness exams for seniors, which began in 2011 under the Affordable Care Act and are required to include a cognitive evaluation.

Please encourage your mother to see her health care professional. Tell her that would put your mind at ease and remind her that a doctor could actually help find ways to improve her memory.

To learn more about this study, visit http://home.isr.umich.edu/releases/seniors-memory-loss-dementia-study/