Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative illness impacting nearly 6 million Americans and 24 million people globally. Understanding whether someone has Alzheimer’s is entirely dependent on a doctor’s diagnosis. To help people identify potential symptoms, the CDC’s Healthy Brain Initiative has outlined 10 warnings signs to monitor.
10 Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease – CDC’s Healthy Brian Initiative
The Center for Disease Control’s Healthy Brain Initiative provides 10 warning signs that could be indicators of Alzheimer’s disease. While some may notice these changes themselves, it’s also likely that friends & family will notice these changes before anyone else.
- Memory loss that disrupts daily life: forgetting events, repeating yourself or relying on more aids to help you remember (like sticky notes or reminders).
- Challenges in planning or solving problems: having trouble paying bills or cooking recipes you have used for years.
- Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, at work, or at leisure: having problems with cooking, driving places, using a cell phone, or shopping.
- Confusion with time or place: having trouble understanding an event that is happening later, or losing track of dates.
- Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relations: having more difficulty with balance or judging distance, tripping over things at home, or spilling or dropping things more often.
- New problems with words in speaking or writing: having trouble following or joining a conversation or struggling to find a word you are looking for (saying “that thing on your wrist that tells time” instead of “watch”).
- Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps: placing car keys in the washer or dryer or not being able to retrace steps to find something.
- Decreased or poor judgment: being a victim of a scam, not managing money well, paying less attention to hygiene, or having trouble taking care of a pet.
- Withdrawal from work or social activities: not wanting to go to church or other activities as you usually do, not being able to follow football games or keep up with what’s happening.
- Changes in mood and personality: getting easily upset in common situations or being fearful or suspicious.
Source: https://www.cdc.gov/aging/healthybrain/ten-warning-signs.html