Skip to main content
Knowledge4Policy
Knowledge for policy

Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Knowledge Gateway

A reference point for public health policy makers with reliable, independent and up-to date information on topics related to promotion of health and well-being.

  • Page | Last updated: 14 Feb 2022

Overview of different types of dementia

Health Promotion Knowledge Gateway

Dementia prevention

Overview and categorisation of a selection of different types of dementia

Sources: Kompetenzzentrum Demenz Schleswig-Holstein, DGPPN 2010 , Deutsche Alzheimer Gesellschaft, WHO 2017 pdf, WHO 2018 pdf,

Primary dementia (ca. 90% of all cases)

Neurodegenerative dementia Alzheimer’s disease (60-70% of all cases worldwide)
  Lewy Body Dementia
  Chorea Huntington
  Corticobasal degeneration
  Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
  Frontotemporal dementia
Vascular dementia Multi-infarct dementia
  Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarct and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) 
  Morbus Binswanger (Binswanger’s disease)
  Single-infarct dementia
Mixed dementia Mixed form of degenerative dementias
  Mixed form of degenerative and vascular dementias

 

Secondary dementia (ca. 10% of all cases)

Deficiencies E.g. Wernicke-Korsakow-Syndrome, lack of folic acid, lack of niacin, vitamin B12 deficiency.
Dehydration  
Infection E.g. HIV-associated dementia
Injuries of the brain or brain tumours E.g. dementia pugilistica (= chronic traumatic encephalopathy / Boxer’s syndrome)
Intoxication