The New York Times highlighted a recent study underlining the high prevalence rate of young-onset dementia and the challenges associated with confirming a diagnosis for adults under the age 65 in a recent article.

The Jan. 17 article points to a systemic review published in JAMA Neurology in July 2021 that determined that for every 100,000 people aged 30 to 64, 119 had young-onset dementia. That roughly translates to 3.9 million people globally living with the disease.

The article underpinned the difficulties of accurately diagnosing dementia within younger adults and detailed the different young-onset dementia types, including FTD. Dr. David S. Knopman, a clinical neurologist at the Mayo Clinic and member of AFTD’s Medical Advisory Council, told the Times that “complaints about brain fog in young patients are very common and are mostly benign.

“It’s hard to know when they’re not attributable to stress, depression, or anxiety or the result of normal again. Even neurologists infrequently see patients with young-onset dementia.”

Read the full New York Times article here.