Screening early for dementia
Dementia is not a normal part of ageing. It is a group of conditions that affect memory, thinking and the ability to manage daily life, and age is one of the risk factors we know most about. What modern practice keeps returning to is early identification and early intervention: noticing a change, looking for the cause, and deciding together whether anything further is needed.
By Dr RayReviewed by Dr Steven Liu, MBBS, FRACGP
1. Forgetting things is not always dementia
“I keep forgetting things lately, is that just age?” “I said that a minute ago, why am I being asked again?” “I can never remember where I put anything.”
These are common as people get older, and on their own they do not mean dementia. Sleep, mood, hearing, medicines, diabetes, blood pressure and cerebrovascular disease all affect how well someone thinks and remembers. So the question we ask is not whether forgetting happens, but whether something has changed.
Is the change clearer than before? Is it getting worse? Has it started to affect daily life? For example:
- Forgetting things that happened a short time ago
- Asking the same question again and again
- Starting to forget medicines
- Finding the bank and the bills harder to handle
- Missing appointments or important dates
- Cooking, shopping or getting around becoming difficult
- Family noticing that someone is not quite as they were
None of these diagnoses dementia. All of them are worth looking into.
2. What we are doing at two of our clinics
Our Bundoora and Preston clinics are running a cognitive health assessment and early identification program for older patients. The aim is a pathway that does not stop at the first question: notice a change, screen, assess with the doctor, order what is needed, weigh it all up, and follow up.
3. What a screening involves
Depending on the person, the team uses questionnaires, cognitive screening tools and a look at daily functioning.
Memory and thinking
Short tools used in clinical practice give a picture of memory, attention, language, calculation, visual and spatial ability, and planning and problem solving. The ones commonly used include GPCOG, MMSE, the Clock Drawing Test and RUDAS. Which one we choose depends on the person's language, cultural background, education and clinical situation.
What the family sees
Some changes are not obvious to the person living them. Where it helps, we invite a family member or carer to answer a short questionnaire about what is different now compared with before. This is not a test of the older person. It gives the doctor a fuller picture than one appointment can.
Daily life
We also ask about the practical things: managing medicines, shopping and cooking, handling bills and money, getting around and driving, and keeping appointments. For a doctor, whether a change has reached independent living matters as much as the change itself.
4. An unusual result is not a diagnosis
This needs saying plainly: a cognitive screening tool screens. It does not diagnose.
If a result suggests looking further, your GP weighs it against your history, your medicines, your mood, your sleep, your hearing and your physical health, along with any blood tests or imaging that are needed.
Some causes of a change in thinking can be treated. Some people have mild cognitive impairment. Others need a specialist assessment. One questionnaire decides none of that. A real diagnosis comes from the person, the family and the doctor's clinical judgement together.
5. Why family often notice first
Changes in thinking have a particular habit: the people around someone often see them before that person does.
If you have noticed your parent, your partner or another older relative becoming different from how they used to be, raise it at the next GP appointment, even if daily life is not affected yet.
What we would most like to avoid is the visit that never happens because of what a test might find. An assessment is not a label. It is a way of understanding your own brain and body earlier.
Where this assessment runs
The cognitive health assessment is available at our Preston (opens in a new tab) and Bundoora (opens in a new tab) clinics. Consultations are available in English and Mandarin. If you would like to talk this through, book an appointment with your GP or call the clinic.
References
- World Health Organization. Dementia, and Risk reduction of cognitive decline and dementia.
- Australian Government. National Dementia Action Plan 2024 to 2034.
- Dementia Australia. Assessment and diagnosis of dementia.
- Dementia Australia. Dementia testing and diagnosis.
- Dementia Australia. Important information about dementia for GPs.
Written by Dr Ray. Reviewed by Mei Liu, Pharmacist and Practice Manager, and Freya, Practice Nurse and Manager. Dr Steven Liu, MBBS, FRACGP, general practice, Melbourne.
First published in Chinese on our WeChat channel on 17 September 2026.
This article is general information. It does not replace a consultation with your own doctor, who knows your history.