Screening older people for minor memory changes will lead to over-diagnosis and potentially harmful treatments for conditions that some experts are arguing could simply be the inevitable consequences of ageing.
A team of specialists in Australia and the United Kingdom say that a political drive to screen older people for mild cognitive impairment or pre-dementia will result in up to 65 % of people aged over 80 being wrongly diagnosed for Alzheimer’s disease and up to 23% labelled with dementia.
They argue that in addition to diverting badly-needed resources from the care of those with advanced dementia, the screening policy is not backed by evidence and ignores the risks, harms and costs to individuals, families and societies.
Read more at University of Sydney