How to distinguish dementia from normal aging

• The lifetime risk of dementia for Americans aged 55 and older is now estimated at 42%.
• Early signs of dementia are often noticed by others first and can include poor judgment or repeating oneself.
• While misplacing keys is normal, forgetting how to perform routine tasks like using a phone is a warning sign.
• Advances in blood tests and brain scans allow for earlier diagnosis, and new drugs can help slow this decline if it's caught early.

Will your heart outlast your mind? Chances are growing that it will.

Dementia, a decline that interferes with the activities of daily living, isn’t a normal part of aging but it’s going to be happening to a whole lot more people.

It turns out that the medical advances for preserving bodily functions you don’t think about — like your heart beating — haven’t done the same for the brain.

The chances that Americans who are currently age 55 and older will develop dementia are not far from 50-50, according to recent research. Researchers estimated that the lifetime risk of dementia for those in that age group is 42%, a substantial probability that’s more than double that of previous estimates, according to research published in Nature Medicine in January 2025.

The good news is that advances are being made in slowing its progress, and early intervention can make a difference.

Here’s what to know about what’s normal aging and what needs the attention of a doctor, according to Julie Matura, a speech-language pathologist and certified brain injury specialist who teaches at the University of Central Florida College of Health Professions and Sciences.

What are the early signs of dementia?

Whether you want a picture of your brain fitness or not, people 65 and older are going to have a cognitive test if they go into a hospital for most surgeries, provided standard operating procedures that were launched nationally in 2019 are followed.

Not only will doctors have a reference point for how you come out of surgery, but these test results could also serve as a baseline test for future comparisons.

“I think we recognize the signs earlier than we ever did,” Matura said.

Chances are that the person being affected by the earliest signs of dementia will not be the first one to notice a decline in thinking ability, Matura said.

“You may not notice that (dementia) is affecting your day-to-day tasks, but the people around you definitely will,” Matura said.

The affected person might repeat something he or she said five minutes earlier, for example. Poor judgment, uncharacteristic irritability and withdrawing from social activities are all symptoms that may escape the notice of someone experiencing dementia unless someone points it out to them.

How does normal aging affect cognitive function compared to dementia?

Misplacing your keys, for example, is normal, Matura said. But forgetting which key unlocks what door is not, she said. Also, forgetting a name or reaching for a word in vain is not necessarily a problem, but being unable to do routine activities, like cooking and using a cell phone, is a warning sign.

People should be able to recall what happened within a day, but forgetting the routine events, like what you had for dinner the day before, is not a sign of brain decline that needs a doctor’s attention, Matura said.

“You should, in a single day, remember what the day looked like — but over time, it's not meant to be committed to long-term memory,” Matura said. “But if you can’t recall what happened just minutes ago …”

It's not always dementia, she said, but it could indicate another kind of problem, which needs a doctor’s attention, she said.

Hormonal shifts, cardiovascular issues and changes in the way the body turns food into energy can also cause brain fog.

“It may not be dementia, but it's very important to recognize that your brain is telling you something that you need to focus on and pay attention to,” Matura said.

What helps people with dementia?

Not long ago, the proteins and plaques that build up in the brain and cause specific sorts of dementia could only be detected after death, Matura said. But that’s changed.

“There are actual blood tests that go along with … brain scans and those cognitive tests that, in totality, can tell you early on what's going on with your brain, which is huge in looking at if there's a medication that might be helpful to you,” Matura said.

Mainstream science doesn’t recognize any treatment that can reverse cognitive decline, but the Food and Drug Administration has approved two injectable drugs that were shown to slow brain function decline in clinical trials and more are on the way, Matura said.

“There are a lot of clinical trials going on,” Matura said.

She also recommends that people having issues with their memory devise functional supports to help them keep going — like a checklist of things to have in hand before going out, taped next to the door, or maybe a meal service.

“You can create more support around you to keep you doing what it is you need to do for as long as possible,” she said.

More information about Alzheimer's or dementia is available by calling the Alzheimer's Association at 800-272-3900, choose option "1." More on screening for the disease is available at the association's link here.

Anne Geggis is an Aging Well reporter for the USA TODAY NETWORK FLORIDA who focuses on physical, mental, emotional and financial well-being as we age, from Gen Y to Boomers. If you have a question you would like Anne to find answers to, send it to [email protected]. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://palmbeachpost.com/newsletters