Assessment of clinical features and coexisting geriatric syndromes in newly diagnosed dementia with Lewy bodies: a retrospective study in a tertiary geriatrics setting in Turkey.

PURPOSE: Identifying the associated clinical conditions in patients with newly diagnosed dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) may contribute to the disease management. This study aimed to examine the clinical features and coexisting geriatric syndromes of patients with newly diagnosed DLB.

METHOD: This cross-sectional study included newly diagnosed DLB participants who were admitted to a tertiary geriatric outpatient clinic. Of the 857 patients with dementia, 116 DLB diagnoses were eligible for analysis. The core and supportive clinical features of DLB were recorded. Geriatric syndromes including polypharmacy, depression, insomnia, dependency, a history of delirium, falls, malnutrition, urinary incontinence, functional impairment, and living alone, were assessed and recorded at baseline.

RESULTS

The mean age was 79.0 ± 6.9 years, and 50.9% of the participants were female. The majority (63.8%) had mild dementia, 31.9% had moderate, and 4.3% had severe disease. Cognitive fluctuations (78.4%), visual hallucinations (77.6%), and Parkinsonism (73.3%) were the most common clinical features. Functional impairment (59.5%) and urinary incontinence (59.5%) were the leading geriatric syndromes, followed by polypharmacy (56.9%), depressive symptoms (54.7%), falls (52.6%), insomnia (49.1%), malnutrition (24.3%), and delirium (6.0%). Women had more functional impairment and depressive symptoms than men.

CONCLUSION

Although most patients had mild dementia, three-quarters of the DLB cohort had hallucinations, and nearly two-thirds were functionally impaired. The proportion of other serious health conditions also increased, indicating a high comorbidity and geriatric syndrome burden. Comprehensive geriatric assessment is strongly recommended for DLB patients from the time of diagnosis until death to reduce disability and comorbidities.

THE CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05052450.