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Terms used within 'Dementia concept group were, "dementia" or "early onset"
or "young onset" or "working age" or "YOD" or "EOD" or "EOAD" or "YOAD".
Terms within Family concept group were "family" or "carer "or "caregiver".
Results were limited to Peer Review Journals between and years 2011 and
2021.
Following database searching and with the removal of duplicate articles, 17
articles were retrieved.
One additional article was retrieved through citation searching.
Findings
The findings from the study were categorised into five main themes.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis is more difficult due to the younger age of the individual and
appearing to be physically fit and healthy. Individuals with young onset
dementia (YOD) are likely to present with a wider range of symptoms
compared with late onset dementia with memory loss and cognitive
impairments not being the main difficulties. The signs and symptoms of YOD
are often attributed to depressions, personality disorders, stress and even
menopause. YOD tends to have a faster progression than late onset dementia
(LOD) (over 65 years of age). The diagnosis process is described as
burdensome due to the lack of knowledge of YOD not only by the public but
also health professionals.
Employment
In the early stages of the disease mistakes on the job promoted colleagues
and management to offer leave, rest, change of duties and even dismissal or
early retirement without considering the possibility of dementia. The spouses
or partners employment could be affected with the partner with YOD
interfering directly at work via excess telephone calls or emails. Due to the
caring responsibilities partners and spouses experienced reduced working
capacity.
Finance
There are number of financial implications for individual with YOD who have to
discontinue work. They could be the primary earner and paying mortgages,
supporting dependent children and other financial commitments. A lack of
diagnosis can further add to the financial difficulties due to not having the full
information to get the correct support from Health and Social Services.
Family Caregiving
The caregiving burden in caring for people with YOD is higher than caring for
those with LOD. The diagnosis changes the dynamic within the partnership
from being a couple to be a caregiver and care recipient. As dementia is a
terminal disease the family experience a range of emotions and care giving