The 30-second drawing test that could predict your dementia risk – how do you score?
A QUICK drawing test could predict whether you’re at risk of developing dementia.
It’s normal to become forgetful as you get older, but the 30-second at home test could reveal if you need to be worried about your memory.
Trying to draw a clock from memory can be a quick way of assessing someone’s risk of the brain robbing disease.
Though it sounds deceptively simple, the test actually assesses a number of different cognitive abilities at once – such as memory, visual-spatial ability, comprehension, motor skills and concentration.
The skills needed to complete the test are the very skills that might begin to degrade is a person has dementia.
According to Dr Jesus Ramirez-Bermudez, a Mexican neurologist who researches cognitive decline, the clock drawing test is an accessible and effective way of detecting dementia risk.
Posting an image of different clock drawings to X, he said “it remains one of the easiest and cheapest ways to identify patients” with neurological conditions such as dementia.
Drawing a lopsided circle or incorrectly placing numbers on the clock could indicate early signs of the condition.
But if someone manages to draw a clock correctly it “virtually excludes” dementia because the task requires a wide range of cognitive skills, according to the NHS – which has used the screening method for decades.
It’s estimated that almost a million Brits have the brain-robbing condition.
The number is projected to rise to 1.4 million by 2040.
Alzheimer’s disease is by far the most common form, accounting for about 60 to 70 per cent of cases.
It’s important to note that the test is often used in combination with other screening methods, so scoring badly doesn’t confirm you’ll get dementia.
But it can serve as prompt to speak to your GP about your memory.
The UK Dementia Directory recommends you encourage loved ones you suspect are suffering from memory loss to do the 30-second dementia test.
The test “could help them realise they could have a problem” and encourage them to visit a GP about their symptoms, it said.
Symptoms of dementia
Dementia symptoms may include problems with:
- Memory loss
- Thinking speed
- Mental sharpness and quickness
- Language, such as using words incorrectly, or trouble speaking
- Understanding
- Judgement
- Mood
- Movement
- Difficulties doing daily activities
People with dementia can lose interest in their usual activities, and may have problems managing their behaviour or emotions.
They may also find social situations difficult and lose interest in relationships and socialising.
Aspects of their personality may change, and they may lose empathy.
Because people with dementia may lose the ability to remember events, or not fully understand their environment or situations, it can seem as if they’re not telling the truth or are wilfully ignoring problems.
As dementia affects a person’s mental abilities, they may find planning and organising difficult. Maintaining their independence may also become a problem.
A person with dementia will usually need help from friends or relatives, including help with making decisions.
Source: NHS
The directory cited the clock-drawing task as “probably the best and most widely used do at home dementia test”.
It added: “The clock drawing test is also widely used by GP’s and dementia specialists.
“They can be used to give a quick and simple early diagnosis that there could be a problem that warrants further investigation into the individuals memory.”
How to do the test
All you’ll need is a blank piece of paper and a drawing implement.
Ask your loved one to:
- Draw a clock
- Put all the numbers on the clock face
- Draw the hands onto the clock, giving them a set time to put in
Now it’s time to score the drawing.
Use the following markers to judge it:
- How well the person drew the clock circle
- Have they included all the numbers 1-12?
- Are all the numbers drawn in the correct order on the clock face and in the correct place?
- Did they draw two hands on the clock?
- Do the hands on the clock say the correct time you asked them to draw?
Award one point for each correct answer.
“A normal score for the test is four or five points,” according to the Dementia Directory.
“Anything less than four points should be a concern.”
Ask your loved one to visit a GP if you have any concerns about their results.
Although there isn’t currently a cure for dementia, getting diagnosed early means the disease can be slowed down with treatment.
The Dementia Directory also recommends giving a simple word association test a go.
Ask the person you’re concerned about to name all the animals they can think of in one minute.
You can also ask them to name all the types of fruit they can remember in one minute.
“Research has found that a healthy individuals scoring should between 20 to 25 words in the time given, whereas a person who may have memory problems usually scores between 10 to 15,” the directory noted.