Certain health problems may show up long before early-onset Alzheimer’s is officially diagnosed, and a new Finnish study points to a cluster of warning signs that stood out years in advance. The strongest pattern showed up in the five years before diagnosis, when doctor visits and several medical conditions became noticeably more common.
Researchers reviewed records from 407 people with early-onset Alzheimer’s and 4,035 others of the same age and sex who did not have the disease. The average diagnosis age was 60, and the work focused on the 15 years leading up to that point, looking for patterns that might help spot trouble earlier.
Depression, vertigo, headaches, stroke, alcohol-related disorders, brain disorders and thyroid disorders were among the conditions seen more often in the Alzheimer’s group. Epilepsy, delirium and ear, nose and throat problems also appeared more frequently, giving the study a wide-ranging picture of how the disease may be tied to more than memory changes alone.
Vertigo and depression were two of the clearest signals, but the differences were not just limited to those issues. Headaches, stroke and other neurological or systemic problems also showed up at higher rates, hinting that the road to diagnosis may involve a mix of symptoms that are easy to overlook in routine care.
The timing matters, too. The study found that the gap between the two groups became most obvious in the five years before diagnosis, which suggests that something was already shifting well before the disease was identified. That lines up with the broader understanding that Alzheimer’s changes can begin many years before obvious cognitive symptoms appear.
Researchers said the increase in healthcare visits right before and during diagnosis may reflect emerging symptoms rather than separate, unrelated illnesses. It also suggests that patients may already be seeking help for problems that do not yet look like Alzheimer’s on the surface.
“It is well-known that the neuropathological changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease begin at least 15 to 20 years before clinical cognitive symptoms appear,” Suvi-Johanna Krüger, M.D., Ph.D., said. “Most previous studies have focused on late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, and considerably less is known about early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.”
That distinction matters because early-onset Alzheimer’s affects people under 65, often during a time when symptoms may be mistaken for stress, burnout or other health issues. When the disease shows up earlier, the signs can be easier to miss, especially if they arrive alongside headaches, mood changes or balance problems.
The study did have important limits. It was observational, so it can show associations but not prove that any of the conditions directly predict Alzheimer’s or cause it.
“Our study cannot determine whether these conditions cause early-onset Alzheimer’s disease or whether they are consequences of the underlying disease process,” Krüger noted. “Some conditions may represent risk factors, while others may reflect early symptoms or changes occurring during the prodromal phase of the disease.”
There is also the possibility that genetics, lifestyle and socioeconomic factors shaped the results. The researchers could not verify every diagnosis on their own, and the findings may not apply neatly outside Finland, which leaves room for bigger and broader studies.
Even with those limits, the message is hard to ignore: persistent symptoms deserve attention, especially when memory, thinking or behavior also begin to shift. “Early diagnosis is important because more treatment and support options are available in the early stages of the disease,” Krüger said.
“Early diagnosis also gives individuals and their families more time to plan for the future and access appropriate support services.”
That kind of lead time can matter a lot, because subtle warning signs often pile up slowly before anyone connects the dots. When the body keeps sending mixed signals, the smartest move is not to brush them off and hope they fade away.
