ABSTRACT
Young-onset dementia, defined as dementia occurring under the age of 65, is an increasingly recognized cause of morbidity and disability. There are few reports of the clinical profile of young-onset dementia from India. The objective of this study was to determine the clinical profile of patients attending a specialist cognitive disorders clinic in West Bengal, an eastern state of India. Almost one-fourth (94/379, 24.5%) of all the patients with dementia were of young onset. Women constituted about one-third of these cases. There was a gradual increase in the number of cases with rising age. The most common etiologies were Alzheimer disease (33%), frontotemporal dementia (27%), and vascular dementia (20%). In contrast to other published studies of young-onset dementia, frontotemporal dementia was commoner than vascular dementia. This could be due to referral bias. A positive family history was found in close to one-fifth of the patients. Close to 10% of the patients had reversible causes of dementia. Community based study is required to confirm the findings of this study.