A falling credit rating is an indication of monetary distress. For older Americans, it may also be an early symptom of Alzheimer’s disease or one other memory disorder.
In a recent study, researchers at Georgetown University and the Latest York Federal Reserve analyzed credit-payment and Medicare-diagnosis data on greater than 2.4 million Americans, finding that a slipping credit rating in older adults is commonly certainly one of the primary observable symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.
“The outcomes are striking of their clarity and consistency,” Carole Roan Gresenz, a health economist at Georgetown and the study’s lead researcher, said in a statement. “The financial decline we observe mirrors the cognitive decline that these individuals are experiencing.”
Within the U.S., nearly 6 million individuals are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or a related disease. The overwhelming majority of individuals that suffer from the incurable degenerative brain disease are 65 years or older.
Gresenz explains that the disease often progresses unnoticed until the symptoms are severe. Yet the study finds that late payments on bank cards and mortgages, which lead to lower credit scores overall, are evident five years before someone gets officially diagnosed.
For instance, bank card balances in delinquency were 25% higher than usual five years before the person was diagnosed.
The closer to the date of diagnosis, the more severe the financial problems got. Two years before diagnosis, the past-due balances were 31% higher, and at one 12 months pre-diagnosis, delinquent balances increased to greater than 50% above the norm.
“Considering the everyday progression of the disease, these findings point to financial consequences of the disease in its earliest stages, when symptoms are typically mild and never widely apparent,” the researchers wrote.
The expansive study, published May 31 by the NY Fed, builds on a body of research linking financial decline and dementia-related diseases. An analogous study published by JAMA Internal Medicine in 2020 found that folks who were ultimately diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease were more more likely to miss bill payments six years before diagnosis, and people people were more more likely to develop subprime credit scores (or scores within the 300 to 600 range) about 2.5 years prior to getting diagnosed with the disorder.
And in 2019, Gresenz led a study that showed the funds of households with someone who was later diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease declined, resulting in a lower net value often as a result of worsened financial decision-making and an increased susceptibility to financial scams.
Credit scores to detect dementia?
Given how early the financial impact of Alzheimer’s disease starts, researchers are recommending that credit data be used as a diagnostic tool to assist doctors and families detect warning signs of dementia-related diseases as soon as possible.
Treatment for a late-stage memory disorder could be financially debilitating by itself, in keeping with the researchers of the NY Fed study. The financial decline that precedes diagnosis only “exacerbate[s] an already destabilizing circumstance.”
The prices of brain imaging alone, which is required to screen and diagnose Alzheimer’s, limits the accessibility of treatment because it is, they explain.
Nonetheless, credit data gathered by the massive three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) could be used to catch symptoms sooner — and at a much lower cost. The researchers would love to see the creation of an algorithm that uses machine learning to detect dementia and assist with diagnosis.
“Our findings,” Gresenz said, “substantiate the possible utility of credit reporting data for facilitating early identification of those in danger for memory disorders.”
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