Symptoms of Dementia: Body Sensations That May Appear 16 Years Before Diagnosis

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Dementia defines a group of symptoms associated with brain decline. Memory loss is a hallmark of dementia, hence the anxiety you feel when trying to recall specific details. However, research continues to identify a host of other symptoms, one of which may precede a diagnosis of dementia by 16 years.

People with dementia may experience increased levels of pain up to 16 years before diagnosis, according to research.

p>The study, funded in part by the National Institute on Aging, was the first to examine the relationship between pain and dementia over a long period of time. Dementia and chronic pain cause changes in the brain and can affect a person's brain health.

Although many people with dementia also suffer from chronic pain, it is unclear whether chronic pain causes or precipitates dementia, is a symptom of dementia, or is simply related to dementia, as both are caused by some other factor .

A new study by scientists at the University of Paris examined the timescale of the relationship between dementia and self-reported pain by analyzing data from a study that collected data on participants over 27 years.< /p>

The researchers measured two aspects of participant-reported pain: pain intensity, which is how much physical pain the participant feels, and pain interference, which is how much the participant's pain affects his or her daily activities.

People diagnosed with dementia reported slightly more pain as early as 16 years before diagnosis, largely due to differences in pain exposure.

These participants reported a steady increase in pain compared to those who never diagnosed with dementia.