“I’ll Live to 100”: Jeon Won-ju Shares Update After Early Dementia Diagnosis [Health Talk]

[Financial News] Actress Jeon Won-ju said she is currently living without major difficulties after revealing that she was diagnosed with early-stage dementia this spring. In the early stages of dementia, people may still manage daily life on their own even as cognitive functions such as memory and judgment decline, so looking healthy on the outside and the state of one’s cognitive function should be assessed separately.
Jeon appeared on MBC’s PD Notebook, which aired on the 6th, and spoke about her current health.

Jeon previously discussed her health checkup results on another broadcast, saying, “I had a health checkup, and it came back as dementia.” She said at the time that she had been diagnosed with early-stage dementia.
Asked about her health on this broadcast, she replied, “I haven’t had a single cold.” She said she did not get immune-boosting shots and had no major difficulties in her everyday life. She then sang a passage from “100-Year Life”: “When they come to take me to the other world at 80, tell them I’m still too young to go.” Afterward, she said, “I figure I’ll live to 100.”


Dementia does not necessarily cause a person’s daily life to deteriorate significantly from the outset. In the early stages, some people can live on their own even as those around them begin to notice changes in their memory or behavior.
The “Dementia Guidebook: A Source of Strength for Me,” published by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Central Dementia Center, classifies early-stage dementia as a level at which family members or coworkers begin to notice problems, but the person can still live alone. As the condition progresses to the middle stage, it becomes difficult to live alone without some assistance; in the late stage, it can progress to a point where independent living is nearly impossible.
Jeon’s current statement that she “hasn’t had a single cold” and her dementia diagnosis therefore concern different aspects of health. Not frequently suffering from infectious diseases and the state of cognitive functions such as memory, language ability and judgment are difficult to compare directly.
Professor Lee Dong-young of Seoul National University Hospital’s Department of Psychiatry defined dementia in health information released in February as a condition in which declining cognitive functions, such as memory, language ability and judgment, make daily life difficult. He said early-stage Alzheimer’s disease may cause symptoms such as forgetting recent events or conversations, repeating the same questions, and having difficulty recalling the names of objects.


Not everyone with declining memory is diagnosed with dementia. Mild cognitive impairment is a commonly discussed concept in the stage before dementia.
The Central Dementia Center defines mild cognitive impairment as a condition in which cognitive functions such as memory have declined compared with the past, and tests confirm the decline, but daily life is not significantly affected and the person does not yet have dementia. Some people with mild cognitive impairment later develop dementia, but it does not progress to dementia in everyone.
A dementia diagnosis is not made solely on the basis of a single simple screening test. Under the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s framework for its survey of cognitive health among older adults, if cognitive decline is identified after the initial cognitive screening, additional assessments are conducted, including neuropsychological tests, ability to perform daily activities, the timing of symptom onset and medical history.
If a health checkup indicates cognitive decline or you are told that you have early-stage dementia, it is important to clarify whether the test you took was a screening test or whether you also received a specialist’s diagnosis.

Dementia assessments examine not only memory but also language ability, orientation, judgment, planning skills and the ability to manage everyday life.
Seoul National University Hospital said that as Alzheimer’s disease progresses, people may become confused about the date or day of the week, or lose their sense of direction even in familiar places. They may also have difficulty with everyday activities such as managing money or taking medication.
In the early stages, people may not feel that they are experiencing major difficulties, so family members may be the first to notice changes. If someone repeatedly asks the same questions, often forgets appointments, or makes increasing mistakes in tasks they used to handle well, such as managing money or keeping track of schedules, a medical consultation can help assess their condition.

Treatment and the course of dementia vary depending on its cause. Besides Alzheimer’s disease, the most common cause, there are vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies and frontotemporal dementia. It is also necessary to distinguish dementia from other conditions that can cause cognitive decline, such as depression, medication-related problems and metabolic disorders.
Seoul National University Hospital said that early detection of Alzheimer’s disease and the start of appropriate treatment and management may help slow the rate of cognitive decline. Diagnosis may involve taking a medical history and conducting neuropsychological tests, as well as brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or positron emission tomography (PET), as needed.
The Central Dementia Center also advises that although some people with early-stage dementia can live alone, the progression of the condition should be monitored continuously. If changes in memory or judgment worsen, or mistakes different from those previously made repeatedly occur in daily life, it is important to check in again with the medical team overseeing the person’s care.

[email protected] Han Seung-gon Reporter