Background: Dementia with Lewy body (DLB) is a common neurodegenerative disease that warrants specific care, which remains largely underdiagnosed. Our objective was to assess the knowledge of DLB by health professionals in comparison with that of Alzheimer's disease (AD), to better understand the reasons of its under-diagnosis.
Methods: We conducted a descriptive and analytical study processing the results of an online questionnaire submitted to French healthcare professionals between December 1, 2020 and March 1, 2021.
Results: A total of 490 healthcare professionals responded to the questionnaire. We observed a poorer knowledge of DLB compared to AD both subjective as highlighted on the self-assessment questionnaires and objective since the diagnostic criteria and therapeutic specificities were less known for DLB compared to AD.
Conclusions: DLB appears as a disease that is still too poorly known by health professionals. To improve training is therefore a decisive objective in order to optimize the therapeutic care and support of patients with DLB and their relatives.
Keywords: cognitive impairment; dementia with Lewy bodies; knowledge; training.