A Neurology study of 793 early-onset dementia patients found productivity losses rose progressively for as long as 15 years before diagnosis, reaching cumulative losses of €74,577 ($85,293) per patient versus matched controls.
The gap appeared earliest in frontotemporal dementia, where losses began 11 years before diagnosis and climbed to €16,116 at diagnosis; in Alzheimer disease, losses started six years before and reached €11,431.
Alpha-synucleinopathy cases showed significant losses only at diagnosis—€11,284—while other early-onset dementia causes stayed consistently high across follow-up, at €8,744 at diagnosis.
Researchers compared the patients with 7,926 age- and sex-matched controls and said delayed diagnosis may leave symptoms unrecognized for years, extending the socioeconomic damage during working age.