Young onset dementia : characteristics and impact

In the Needs in Young onset Dementia (NeedYD) study, 215 young people with dementia (started before their 65th) and their family members were studied for two years. It turned out that for this group it took longer to diagnose dementia than for older people. In 45%, before another diagnosis was made, such as psychological problems. Often, there was much distress before the diagnosis, such as family conflicts or work-related problems. Moreover, the disease insight turned out higher in young than in older persons with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Also behaviour problems appeared to occur less frequently in this group. The study shows that timely indication and diagnosis are important for this group and offer leads for the support of young people with dementia and their families.