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The researchers suggest that the loss of ability to detect a scam can predict the onset of dementia.
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Older people may be at greater risk of being scammed by crooks than their appearance or behavior suggests.
New research shows that changes in social judgment occur before changes in thought or memory are recognizable, making it difficult for family and friends to monitor danger signs.
According to the findings of a prospective cohort study published in the newspaper, low awareness of scams in the elderly could also be an early sign of cognitive decline and dementia. Annals of Internal Medicine.
Researchers at the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center in Chicago, United States, have asked 935 dementia-free seniors to complete a questionnaire to determine the "scam awareness" score.
After an average of six years of follow-up, participants spent annual neuropsychological tests every year. Cerebral autopsies were performed on the 264 deceased participants, to look for the characteristics of Alzheimer's disease.
The researchers found that low awareness of scams was a harbinger of adverse cognitive outcomes and was associated with a brain condition related to Alzheimer's disease.
"We conceptualize scam awareness as an element of decision-making and complex behavior that requires a variety of social cognitive abilities, including the recognition that others may have different intentions and desires than others. personality traits of others and behavior even in situations of high pressure, "they write.
The paper notes that although it is generally thought that elder fraud is limited to people with reported cognitive syndromes, recent evidence suggests that many people who appear to be cognitively intact are also scammed.
As such, the new findings "could have significant consequences for the vulnerability of older people. financial fraud and other forms of exploitation ".
"Among the participants in our study, 76% said that they answered the phone every time the phone rings even if they do not know who's calling, 24% said they listen to telemarketers and 11% have the difficulty of terminating an unsolicited or unwanted communication with a telemarketer. .
"We recognize that responses to the measure used here are not validated indicators of victimization, but such behaviors indicate a willingness to engage in behaviors associated with victimization."
Researchers at the University of Washington in the United States wrote in an unrelated but relevant article that seniors may not consider age-related risk factors for making decisions. on how to store their firearms.
Nearly a quarter of the more than 4,400 respondents kept their guns unlocked and loaded, regardless of memory loss or suicide risk.
In the group, the prevalence of diagnosed depression and frequent mental distress was 17.4% and 6.9%, respectively. 12.2% reported having lost their memory the previous year and 5.6% reported discussing their memory loss with a clinician.
The researchers noted that 91% of firearm deaths among older adults in the United States in 2017 were self-inflicted.
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