Early onset dementia

Early onset dementia or young onset dementia refers to dementia with symptom onset prior to age 65 years. Early onset dementia is a general term that describes a group of conditions featuring progressive cognitive decline, particularly in the domains of executive function, learning, language, memory, or behavior.

This condition may occur due to various different causes, including degenerative, autoimmune, or infectious processes. The most common form of early onset dementia is Alzheimer's disease, followed by frontotemporal dementia, and vascular dementia, with Alzheimer's disease accounting for between 40 and 50% of cases. Less common forms of early onset dementia include Lewy body dementias (dementia with Lewy bodies and Parkinson's disease dementia), Huntington's disease, Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, multiple sclerosis, alcohol-induced dementia, and other conditions. Childhood neurodegenerative disorders like mitochondrial diseases, lysosomal storage disorders, and leukodystrophies can also present as early onset dementia as well.

Early onset dementia is a significant public health concern, as the number of individuals with early onset dementia is increasing worldwide.