Spotting Alzheimer’s Early: Proactive Care Prevent Up to 40% of Dementia Cases
[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] As populations age and social stressors increase worldwide, cognitive health has become a pressing public-health concern — especially for older adults. 75% of people living with dementia globally receive no formal diagnosis at all1; the minority who do are then faced with an obstacle course of health system access…
As populations worldwide age and social stressors increase, cognitive health has become a pressing concern, particularly for older adults. Alarming prevalence figures from a Chinese University of Hong Kong study show that nearly 22 percent of people aged 60 and over in Hong Kong have mild neurocognitive disorder or mild cognitive impairment, with close to 10 percent meeting criteria for dementia.
These numbers highlight the urgent need for early detection and proactive care to preserve function and reduce downstream care burdens.
Primary-care doctors use memory tests, medical history reviews, blood tests, and additional diagnostic methods to screen for cases of cognitive impairment. Specialists assess daily functioning, communication, language, executive function, and skills needed for independent living to determine if mild cognitive impairment or dementia is present.
If a patient can still manage daily activities but displays cognitive problems, they may be diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment. If they can no longer manage everyday tasks, they likely have progressed to dementia.
Current diagnostic guidelines rely on biomarkers, primarily proteins such as amyloid and tau, measured in the bloodstream. Blood tests, specifically for p-tau217, p-tau181, and amyloid-beta 42, can help detect Alzheimer's-related changes. These tests, when done at specialist outpatient clinics, are increasingly recommended to rule out Alzheimer's disease and help determine other causes of cognitive problems.
Highly reliable statistical methods determine thresholds for blood tests, ensuring accurate identification of those with or without the disease while minimizing the grey zone of indeterminate results.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
