Color Vision Impairment Differentiates Alzheimer Dementia From Dementia With Lewy Bodies

Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is frequently misdiagnosed for Alzheimer dementia (AD), especially in its earlier stages. We characterized color vision impairment (CVI) in patients with DLB versus patients with AD to determine its usefulness in improving accuracy of early diagnosis.

We retrospectively reviewed charts of patients with AD, DLB, and patients with mild cognitive impairment suspected to be in the prodromal phase of DLB (pro-DLB) or prodromal phase of AD (pro-AD). All patients underwent an online 15-hue color vision arrangement test.

Fifty-two patients were included in this study with a median age of 77 years, of which 44% were female. No significant differences in gender, age, or Montreal Cognitive Assessment existed among patients with AD (n = 15), pro-AD (n = 5), pro-DLB (n = 8), and DLB (n = 24). Of the 52 patients, 4 (2 AD, 1 DLB, and 1 pro-AD) had CVI history from a young age and were excluded from final analyses. New-onset CVI prevalence differed significantly based on diagnosis: patients with pro-AD (20%), patients with AD (15%), patients with pro-DLB (38%), and patients with DLB (78%, P < .001). In a stepwise multivariate logistic regression analysis to determine factors associated with CVI, "diagnosis type" as a binary variable (DLB or pro-DLB vs AD or pro-AD) was the only variable retained in the model (odds ratio = 9.8 [95% CI: 2.3-42.1], P < .001).

Color vision impairment in patients with DLB showed a prevalence similar to the core features of DLB (∼80%) and can be supportive to a diagnosis of DLB versus AD. Pending prospective confirmation of our findings, simple online color vision testing could be incorporated into multivariate diagnostic tools to possibly improve accuracy of early diagnosis of DLB.