How common is dementia with Lewy bodies?
Neuropathological series generally indicate that dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is the second most common cause of degenerative dementia in older people, accounting for 20% of cases. Clinicians often feel that in other settings, for example Memory Clinics, that the disorder is far less frequent. Unfortunately, there are few epidemiological data pertaining to this, since most studies were planned or ongoing before DLB Consensus Criteria were reached and published in 1996. Using subjects from the Finnish Kuopio 75 + study Rahkonen et al (Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry 2003;74:72024) examined 601 people and found a 23% prevalence of dementia. The prevalence of Alzheimers disease was 47%, vascular dementia 23% and dementia with Lewy bodies 22%. Reasonably high rates of DLB might explain by the fact that all subjects were examined by a trained Geriatrician and underwent a physical examination looking for Parkinsonism. As with many disorders it seems that the more you loo
