“I began to notice that something wasn’t right with my brother, Panagiotis, three years ago, when he was 55,” says Ms. Andriana Michala. “What I noticed at first was that sometimes he had trouble expressing himself, even though, as a philologist who loved reading since he was young, he had a very rich vocabulary.”
“Suddenly, he began struggling to find the words he wanted to say,” she recounts. “Then, although he used to come to my house very often, he began losing his way, forgetting the route, and when he finally arrived, he wouldn’t remember, for example, where the kitchen was. I really started to worry when one day I went to his house and saw that his refrigerator was empty. Every time I asked what he had eaten, he would say pasta.”
“At the same time, I noticed he had begun losing weight. Then he started calling much less frequently and constantly complained about problems at work. Having lost our father to Alzheimer’s, I persuaded him to see a neurologist. After a series of tests, the doctors told us that my brother was suffering from early-onset Alzheimer’s.”
“Today, his condition has progressed. It saddens me greatly to see him slowly disappear day by day. There are moments when he looks at me and I can see in his eyes that he doesn’t recognize me. And other times, he’s his old self and asks about the children as if nothing has happened.”
Panagiotis is one of many people in recent years who have developed neurodegenerative diseases like dementia and Alzheimer’s at a younger age than what we’ve traditionally associated with the illness.
In Greece and abroad, many cases have started in people’s 40s or 50s.
As psychiatrist Giannis Papatriantafyllou, head of the “Iasis” center for older adults and president of the Hellenic Dementia Society, tells To Vima, “The truth is, we’ve observed two things in recent years. One is that in advanced societies, new Alzheimer’s cases in older ages appear to be decreasing. Unfortunately, however, we are seeing an increase among younger people.”
200% Increase in Dementia and Alzheimer’s in Young People
Dr. Papatriantafyllou notes that the decrease in cases among older individuals is attributed to the fact that in developed countries, seniors lead healthier lifestyles, exercise more, regularly monitor their heart or blood sugar, and smoke less than in the past, resulting in fewer cases in those age groups.
“But it’s hard to explain why we’re seeing this increase among younger people. Consider that a 2024 study showed that from 1990 to 2021, we’ve seen a 200% increase in younger age groups. That’s tragic if we consider that dementia at 85 or 90 is very different from at 50 or even 40. At those ages, people are building families and raising children—things become much more difficult. And not just for the patient, but also for their family and caregivers,” he emphasizes.
He adds, “Because I specialize in dementia, I find that hardly a week goes by without seeing a 50- or 60-year-old patient. In the past, we’d see patients of that age once a month or every two months.”
The rise in conditions like Alzheimer’s in people under 65 in recent decades is a phenomenon observed across all advanced societies.
According to a meta-analysis of 74 studies recently published in JAMA Neurology, the global age-adjusted prevalence of early-onset Alzheimer’s is 119 per 100,000 individuals aged 30–64.
Approximately 7.5% of individuals with dementia in the United Kingdom have been diagnosed before the age of 65.
373% Increase in Dementia Among People Aged 30–44
In the United States, between 2013 and 2017, diagnoses of early-onset dementia in people aged 30–44 increased by 373%. In the 45–54 age group, the increase was 311%. It is noted that early-onset Alzheimer’s accounts for about 5% to 10% of all Alzheimer’s cases.
Many experts attribute the rise in younger-age cases to greater public awareness and quicker visits to doctors.
Professor of Neurology at the University of Athens, Nikos Skarmeas, notes that there haven’t been many epidemiological studies on younger patients and adds, “These diseases in younger ages don’t usually manifest as memory problems. We often see speech difficulties—such as trouble finding words or understanding them. There are also spatial perception difficulties. These individuals become confused in space. We find that these diseases at younger ages present a phenotype—a clinical picture—that is often different from what we see in older patients, where amnesia is more typical. This has a corresponding impact on functionality. For example, they remember but can’t express themselves, which has consequences for their work. Or they may have trouble moving around because they trip over things.”
“Learn a Foreign Language”
As Professor Stergios Gkatzonis, neurologist and specialist in surgical treatment of neurological diseases at the University of Athens Medical School, explains to To Vima, “In the past, if someone worked in the fields and had mild dementia, it wasn’t such a big deal. Today, people need to drive, pay the bank online, manage things digitally—so any difficulties come to the surface more quickly. These are the two main reasons I believe we’re seeing earlier visits to specialists, and thus earlier identification of deficits.”
When asked how a specialist can help someone with early-onset dementia or Alzheimer’s, he emphasizes that “we’re entering a new era of treatments. Every month brings something new. Early intervention can include cognitive strengthening through specific exercises. For example, I suggest to some patients that they start learning a foreign language.”
Two New Drugs for Dementia – Alzheimer’s
Professor Skarmeas mentions that “two new drugs have been approved in the U.S. that are much more effective than older treatments. One of them has also been approved in Europe, while the other is still under review. The first may soon be available in Greece. The clinical trials for these drugs did not include many younger patients, but the rationale is that if they work in older individuals, they should work for them as well.”
