Thursday 30 June 2022 02:03 AM Changes in how you draw could outline Alzheimer's risk, study suggests trends now
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The way people draw on paper could detect early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.
Those with dementia pause for longer when drawing, use the pen at a jerky speed and are more erratic in how hard they press down, a study has found.
Researchers recruited 144 people, including 27 with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease, 65 with mild cognitive impairment and 52 people of a similar age who had neither.
They found an algorithm, judging 22 different measures of drawing style, correctly identified these people with 75 per cent accuracy. Published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, the study found consistent differences in how people drew in the tasks.
Researchers recruited 144 people, including 27 with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease, 65 with mild cognitive impairment and 52 people of a similar age who had neither (file image)
Professor Tetsuaki Arai, senior author of the study from the University of Tsukuba in Japan, said: ‘Our results pave the way for better screening tests for cognitive impairments.’ Drawing tests are already used to diagnose Alzheimer’s. But traditionally these tests analyse red flags for dementia such as slower thinking speed.
Detecting mild signs of mental impairment early on could prevent or delay someone developing dementia.
The new study looked at factors like how
