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Doctors may be able to test seniors for early signs ofdementia Based on their driving habits, a study suggests.

In the study, researchers fromThe University of Health at Columbia University of Public Healthand the engineering school analyzed the data of thelong-term studyLong road(Longitudinal research on aging drivers), who followed nearly 3,000 older drivers as long as four years.When the study began, participants were active drivers aged 65 to 79 and had no significant cognitive impairment and degenerative medical conditions.

During the study, 33 participants were diagnosed with a mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 31 with dementia. Automatic learning models were then developed to detect MCI and dementia of the conduct of subjects. Read on and to ensure your health and health of others, do not miss theseSure sign that you have "Long" Covid and may even know.

"Dementia is not a single illness, but a term that describes a collection of changes to memory, thought and personality that interfere with a person's ability to operate," says Scott Kaiser, MD Certified Board and Geriatric Cognitive Health Officer at the Saint John Providence Health Center in Santa Monica, California. "This disorder can be caused by a variety of cerebral diseases or conditions." Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, affecting more than five million Americans.

The memory problems are typically one of the first signs of dementia, the national institutes of aging indicate. These difficulties could be observed by a loved one or a person close to the affected person. A person with dementia can forget recent or important events, names and places, or where they left some objects.

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According to Dr. Kaiser, in addition to memory loss, other dementia symptoms may include:

• Linguistic difficulties, such as the difficulty of finding the right words or to communicate in general
• Visual and spatial problems, such as getting lost by driving
• Difficulty solving problems and complementing mental tasks
• Difficulty organizing and planning
• Deficiencies of walking or coordination issues
• Bad orientation towards time or place, or general confusion
• Unexplained changes in personality, such as depression, anxiety or mood swings; new and inappropriate behaviors; irritability or agitation

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"Based on variables derived from naturalistic driving data and basic demographic characteristics, such as age, gender, race and ethnicity and level of education, we could predict a cognitive disability and dementia with an accuracy of 88%, "said Sharon Di, Associate Professor of Engineering and Engineering Engineering and Leader of the Study, published in the newspaperGeriatrics.

The researchers found that age was the number one risk factor for MCI or dementia, but a number of driving models were close to behind. They understood that the percentage of trips traveled within 15 miles of the house, the duration of the trips that started at home, minutes per trip and the number of hard braking events with rapid deceleration rates. The driving behavior alone could predict the MCI or dementia with an accuracy of 66%.

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The genesis of dementia - an umbrella term for a decrease in memory, judgment and the ability to communicate, which includes the neurodegenerative diseases of Alzheimer and Parkinson - is unclear and the early diagnosing was revealed hard. Doctors are likely to accommodate new diagnostic criteria that can help. Although dementia can not be cured, early detection and management can slow down its progression.

"Driving is a complex task involving dynamic cognitive processes and requiring critical cognitive functions and perceptual motor skills. Our study indicates that naturalistic driving behaviors can be used as full and reliable markers for cognitive deficiency and light cognitive dementia" , said Guohua Li, MD, RDPH, professor of epidemiology and anesthesiology in Columbia and the main author of the study. "If validated, the algorithms developed in this study could be a new discrete screening tool for early detection and management of light cognitive deficiency and cognitive dementia in older drivers."And to cross this pandemic with your healthiest, do not miss these 35 places you are most likely to catch Covid .