What Working-Age Adults Need to Know

Dementia is often seen as an illness of old age, but early onset dementia, usually defined as symptoms appearing before the age of 65, is increasingly part of the public conversation.

The key question is whether it is genuinely becoming more common among younger people, or whether we are simply getting better at recognising it.

Is Early Onset Dementia Increasing?

Most researchers believe it is largely the latter. Improved awareness among clinicians, better brain imaging, and clearer diagnostic criteria mean that cases once mislabelled as depression, stress, burnout, or “mid-life crisis” are now more accurately identified.