A recent study found that the risk of suicide increases by roughly seven times after receiving a diagnosis of young onset dementia.
Early Dementia Findings
The medical data of 594,674 individuals was examined by researchers from Queen Mary, University of London, and the University of Nottingham to see if there was a correlation between dementia diagnosis and the risk of suicide.
According to the study published in the Jama Neurology journal, approximately 2% of dementia patients commit suicide. When compared to someone without dementia, the probability of suicide death within three months of diagnosis before the age of 65 was 6.69 times higher.
The research also pointed out that, when a patient was diagnosed before the age of 65 during the first three months after a diagnosis, the risk was higher. This is also true if the patient has a known psychiatric condition.
Challenge in Identifying Patients with Dementia
The findings, according to experts, suggest that clinics should identify patients with the disease who were diagnosed before the age of 65 and perform suicide risk assessments.
The Wolfson Institute of Population Health at Queen Mary's lead author and honorary consultant neurologist, Charles Marshall, said that increasing access to a dementia diagnosis is a top goal for healthcare.
But considering how traumatic a dementia diagnosis may be, he said that their research suggests that we also need to make sure that agencies have the funding necessary to offer the right kind of assistance once a diagnosis has been made.
Dementia Statistics
Currently, according to the Independent, around 900,000 people in the UK suffer from dementia, making it the main cause of death. On the other hand, there are 42,000 have dementia with young onset. It also affects about 25,000 persons from Black, Asian, and other ethnic minority origins. It currently has no known cure.
Since only about two-thirds of people with dementia are believed to have received a diagnosis, the NHS places a high priority on providing timely and accurate dementia diagnoses. But according to specialists, in addition to more memory clinics, there should also be more resources available to support individuals once they have been diagnosed with dementia.
Early Dementia Detection
Head of policy at Alzheimer's Research UK, Susan Mitchell, remarked that even if this study presents a conflicting picture of the relationship between dementia and suicide risk the findings that people under 65 who have a dementia diagnosis are at an increased risk of suicide is disturbing.
Being diagnosed with young-onset dementia can be challenging and terribly isolating because dementia is frequently associated with elderly individuals.
According to Mitchell, the majority of current services are geared toward persons 65 and older, making it challenging for young people and their families to get the right kind of assistance. This can be devastating to bear, according to Mitchell, especially as there are currently no medicines in the UK that can stop or delay the advancement of the underlying illnesses that cause dementia.
Beth Kallmyer, vice president of care and support for the Alzheimer's Association, was quoted by CNN as saying that getting an Alzheimer's diagnosis at a young age is uncommon, unexpected, and overwhelming, making it very challenging to accept.
Yet she advises that if the individual with dementia is still employed, they must look into any job benefits that might be of assistance. Before they quit their jobs, they must complete it. Short- and long-term disability insurance offered by the employer may be highly beneficial to the applicant when they are submitting a Social Security disability application.
