Study: Tests Help Predict Dementia

Two memory tests can help to predict a person’s risk of dementia up to 10 years before it develops, researchers say. The study included more than 1,500 adults. They were age 65 or older when it began. They were healthy and did not have dementia. Researchers gave them several tests. Two turned out to help predict who would have dementia 10 years later. In one test, people were told a list of 15 words. They heard it a total of 5 times. Then they listened to a different series of 15 words. After this, they were asked to recall as many words from the first list as possible. In the second test, people read a list of numbers paired with symbols. Then they were asked to draw the symbols that belonged with numbers from the list. People’s risk of dementia dropped 18% for each extra word they recalled on the first test. Their risk fell 5% for each extra symbol they remembered.