This interesting medical journal article from 2019 is about the best practices in the United Kingdom in diagnosing “young onset dementia” (YOD), which is dementia diagnosed under 65 years. The authors indicate that YOD is poorly recognized and often misdiagnosed as psychiatric disorders, including depression.
Excerpt: Recent studies “indicate that the average time to diagnosis was 4.4 years in younger people for all-cause dementia compared with 2.2 years for late-onset disease of comparable severity. Increased time to diagnosis for younger people is more likely when the younger person receives a diagnosis of FTD [frontotemporal dementia], rather than other dementia types. … Given the significance of changes in empathy and disinhibition often associated with FTD, delay in diagnosis can mean that close relationships break down prior to diagnosis or that people take considerable risks. … This complexity often results to delays in diagnosis and additional stress, frustration and burden for families.”