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A sick sense of humour could signal dementia
A fan of a dirty joke? An increasingly warped sense of humour could be an early marker for dementia, according to UK experts.
Researchers from the University College London examined patients with frontotemporal dementia, and found that they had revealed changes in their sense of humour years before dementia had been diagnosed.
The study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, questioned friends and family of 48 patients on changes in their behaviour. Many said they noticed the patients had adopted a sick sense of humour, including laughing inappropriately at tragic events.
“These were marked changes – completely inappropriate humour well beyond the realms of even distasteful humour. For example, one man laughed when his wife badly scalded herself,” study author Dr Camilla Clark explained.
Loved ones were asked to rate the patient’s preferences for different kinds of comedy – slap stick, satirical or absurdist comedy. They discovered that patients preferred slapstick comedy to satirical comedy, compared to 21 healthy people of a similar age.
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Frontotemporal dementia – one of the rarer forms of the disease – affects areas of the brain associated with personality and behaviour. According to experts, this form of dementia is related to a loss of inhibition, becoming impulsive and having difficulty in social situations.
Experts say that more study is needed to determine how changes in humour could act as a red flag for the disease.
