Dementia—it’s one of the most dreaded diseases of our time. About 5.8 million people are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia. And that number is expected to skyrocket to 14 million by 2050.
Determining if someone with memory problems or mild cognitive impairment is headed for a more devastating decline into dementia often involves in-depth cognitive testing. But there are a few other simple tests that can be quite telling. A pair of 2019 studies show that certain quick tests are useful in assessing a person’s risk of developing dementia or in ruling it out.