Palliative Care Needs in Young-Onset Dementia: A Commentary

Although dementia is typically associated with older age, it is estimated that worldwide each year 370,000 people aged <65 years develop dementia.1 Dementia is classified as "young-onset" (YOD) when first symptoms manifest before the age of 65 years.2 Dementia is a progressive disease that results in increasing dependency and ultimately death. In 2015, an editorial by Koopmans et al concluded that research on palliative care in people with YOD is scarce.3 This editorial presented some hypotheses regarding differences between late- and young-onset dementia regarding survival rates, comorbidity, process of advance care planning (ACP), and pharmacotherapy of neuropsychiatric symptoms.