Early diagnosis

A confirmed diagnosis from an appropriately qualified healthcare professional is an important step in living well with dementia. 

Early diagnosis allows people to access treatment, information, advice and support sooner. It also gives people living with dementia and their families the opportunity to plan for the future.

If pharmacy professionals notice a change in somebody and consider that they could be showing early signs of dementia they may want to encourage them to seek help early and suggest that the patient sees their GP, or signpost them to relevant information. Of course this needs to be done sensitively and professionally.

Ruling out other causes 

Dementia can be confused with other conditions that have similar symptoms and a professional diagnosis will rule these out. For example, depression, chest and urinary tract infections, severe constipation and vitamin and thyroid deficiencies can have similar symptoms and presentations, but these are all treatable.

A review of the person’s medicines should identify and minimise the use of drugs, including over-the-counter products, that may adversely affect cognitive function. In addition, a diagnosis can rule out other possible causes of confusion and emotional change.

Once other conditions have been ruled out, the person should undergo an initial assessment. There is no single test for dementia and a diagnosis is based on a combination of medical history, assessments, examinations, and blood tests. 

If dementia is suspected after an initial assessment in a non-specialist settings (such as a GP practice), the person will be referred to a specialist dementia diagnostic service (such as a memory clinic) where further diagnostic tests (such as MRI or CT scans may be arranged) and more detailed memory tests carried out.

More information on assessment and diagnosing dementia is available within the NICE guideline (NG97) Dementia: assessment, management and support for people living with dementia and their carers.