Parents’ forgetting may be mild cognitive impairment rather than simple aging

【Welfare News】 Lunar New Year, the nation’s largest holiday, is a time for the whole family to gather for the first time in a long time and share affection, but it is also an appropriate time to closely monitor the health status of parents and family members around them. If you show unusual behavior or subtle changes that are different from usual, this may be a sign of abnormal brain health rather than simple aging, so special attention and careful observation are required.

The number of patients with dementia, a representative degenerative disease that threatens brain health, is steadily increasing every year. According to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service’s statistics on diseases of national interest, the number of patients increased by about 25% from 567,433 in 2020 to 709,620 in 2024. The social costs of dementia are also enormous, and as of 2024, the total cost of nursing care benefits amounts to approximately 2.1757 trillion won.

The number of patients with mild cognitive impairment, called the pre-stage of dementia, also increased by about 20% from 277,245 in 2020 to 332,464 in 2024. However, public awareness is still low compared to the seriousness of the disease. According to a public awareness survey by the Korean Dementia Association, as of 2022, 58% of respondents did not know the term mild cognitive impairment itself, and 73% did not recognize that this period is a critical period for dementia prevention.

– Mild cognitive impairment, unlike forgetfulness, cannot remember even if given hints.

Many people confuse mild cognitive impairment with simple forgetfulness caused by aging, but the critical difference between the two conditions lies in the changes in ‘memory storage method’ and ‘daily performance ability’.

Forgetfulness is a retrieval problem in which information is stored in the brain but cannot be retrieved temporarily. When given a hint, the person quickly regains his or her memory, and the person himself or herself is aware of the decline in memory and shows signs of concern. On the other hand, those with mild cognitive impairment are unable to remember the event itself even when given hints and tend to forget it frequently. Other areas, such as language skills or judgment, may also show functional decline.

In particular, if mistakes are repeated in activities that require complex cognitive functions, such as cooking, money management, or taking medicine, even if basic daily routines such as eating and washing are maintained, this should be viewed as a strong sign of mild cognitive impairment, which is not simply aging but the final gateway to dementia.

In the case of normal elderly people, only 1-2% develop dementia each year, but in patients with mild cognitive impairment, approximately 10-15% develop dementia each year. Therefore, active treatment is important because this period is a very important stage in which dementia can be detected early and the treatment effect can be maximized.

– Immediate inspection if there are any abnormalities, early diagnosis is the only solution

Subtle signs that cannot be detected through regular phone calls may be revealed during holiday activities, so you should carefully observe changes and seek professional diagnosis if any abnormal signs are detected.

If you are unable to match the seasoning of foods that you have maintained for decades, are confused about the order of cooking familiar foods, use more pronouns (that, that, that) because the appropriate words do not immediately come to mind during conversation, repeat the same questions because you cannot remember the content of a conversation you had 30 minutes ago, have difficulty controlling your emotions such as being more stubborn or easily angry than usual, or spend a long time in a daze while missing the flow of conversation, you need to suspect mild cognitive impairment.

For an accurate diagnosis, memory, attention, and language skills are comprehensively evaluated through neuropsychological tests, and if necessary, a brain MRI scan is performed to precisely check for possible worsening of symptoms. Treatment is effective when it is based on drug therapy and combines cognitive training and lifestyle improvement. Early management is especially important from the age of 40, when brain nerve cell damage begins.

The Central Dementia Center proposes to prevent mild cognitive impairment. ▲Book 3 (Things to enjoy): Walk at least three times a week, eat a balanced diet of fish and vegetables, read and write diligently ▲Three Rules (to endure): Limit drinking to less than 3 glasses at a time, quit smoking, and be careful of head injuries ▲Book 3 (What to take care of): Regular check of blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol, annual early check-up for dementia, and frequent communication with family and friends are recommended.

Lim Lim-jong, director of the Korea Health Management Association Health Checkup Center (Seoul Gangnam), advised, “The longer mild cognitive impairment is left untreated, the higher the risk of progressing to dementia, so it is important to thoroughly manage chronic diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes and to make regular social activities and brain stimulation part of your daily life.” He added, “If even minor forgetfulness recurs, do not ignore it lightly and take an active attitude to check for changes through regular checkups.”

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