These resources are brought to you by the Cooperative Extension System and your Local Institution

Family Caregiving Home

What is the difference between dementia and Alzheimer’s disease?

Last Updated: December 21, 2007

View as web page


Dementia is a broad class of diseases into which Alzheimer’s disease falls. In other words, all cases of Alzheimer’s disease can be called dementia, but not all dementias are caused by Alzheimer’s disease. The terms are sometimes confused because the majority of dementia cases are Alzheimer’s disease (about 65 percent).

Other types of dementia may be caused by Parkinson’s Disease, Lewy Body Dementia, and Vascular Dementia, among others.

For more information, visit http://www.extension.org/pages/Caring_for_Someone_with_Alzheimers_Disease.

Browse related Faqs by tag: family caregiving, human health


Have a specific question? Try asking one of our Experts

Unlike most other resources on the web, we have experts from Universities around the country ready to answer your questions.


View this page: