Dementia in urban black outpatients: initial experience at the Emory satellite clinics

The purpose of this study is to describe demographic features and clinical diagnoses in a sample of demented urban black outpatients and to report the frequency of different causes of dementia in this patient sample. Retrospective chart review was used to identify demented black outpatients who had completed a full neurodiagnostic evaluation and had received clinical diagnoses using standardized research diagnostic criteria. Probable Alzheimer's disease was the most common cause of dementia in this sample (43% of cases). Probable vascular dementia was uncommon (7%). A multiple etiology dementia was identified in more than one third of the patients.