A financial tool that millions of Americans rely on, known as a credit score, could be hiding a sinister secret about your brain health, experts warn.
A new study by the New York Federal Reserve and Georgetown University has uncovered a disturbing link between declining credit scores and the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD).
The research, which analyzed data from over 2.4 million Americans between 2000 and 2017, found that credit scores start to weaken a staggering five years before an official dementia diagnosis.
The study revealed a host of other financial red flags as well, such as mortgage delinquencies begin to climb three years before diagnosis
Credit card balances in delinquency also skyrocket by over 50 percent just one year before diagnosis. This is likely because people suffering from the degenerative brain condition are forgetting to pay their bills on time.
A financial tool that millions of Americans rely on, known as a credit score, could be hiding a sinister secret about your brain health, experts warn
And mortgage balances in delinquency are 11 percent higher one year pre-diagnosis
Researchers estimate that a whopping 600,000 delinquencies will occur over the next decade due to undiagnosed ADRD.
‘Our findings substantiate the possible utility of credit reporting data for facilitating early identification of those at risk for memory disorders,’ the researchers wrote.
Wilbert van der Klaauw, economic research adviser at the New York Fed, told CBS that family members should be on the lookout.
‘It is important for family and friends to realize this happens before diagnosis, to look more holistically at finances and payment decisions that older adults might be making,’
A new study by the New York Federal Reserve and Georgetown University has uncovered a disturbing link between declining credit scores and the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD)
‘Family members should be on the lookout for situations such as ‘Does this person suddenly have new credit cards?’ the economist advised.
Dementia affects roughly 15 percent of US adults over 70 and 5.8 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s and related dementias.
In June, researchers revealed that individuals are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s if their mother had been diagnosed with the disease, compared to if your father has suffered it.
The study suggested those who have fathers diagnosed with the degenerative condition early — before the age of 65 years — 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 with no cognitive impairments.
You may be more likely to develop dementia if your mother had the disease at any time in her life, a study suggests
Each brain was scanned for amyloid plaques — a build-up of toxic protein thought to be a precursor of Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia.
Researchers found those with higher levels of plaques in the brain tended to have a family history of the disease on their mother’s side.
However, higher-than-average amyloid levels were also seen on the brains of those who had fathers that were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at 65 or younger.
Amyloid plaques are thought to trigger the disease by disrupting communications between brain cells, stopping the organ functioning correctly.
