F00 vs F01

Both are dementias involving acquired, multi-domain cognitive decline with preserved consciousness, and both can occur in older adults with overlapping risk profiles (a person can, in fact, have elements of both).

• F00 typically shows a smooth, continuously progressive course; F01 typically shows an abrupt onset or stepwise deterioration, often tied to identifiable vascular events.
• F00 tends toward an even, multi-domain decline; F01 more often shows a patchy profile, with some domains markedly affected and others relatively preserved.
• F01 is more often accompanied by focal neurological signs (weakness, gait disturbance) and a history of stroke, hypertension, or atrial fibrillation.

What weakens F00: A clear history of stepwise decline coinciding with confirmed strokes, with patchy rather than even cognitive deficits, weakens F00 and favours F01.

F00: gradual, continuously progressive over months to years. F01: often stepwise or abrupt, tied to vascular events, sometimes with periods of stability between declines.

A single vascular risk factor (e.g. hypertension) without a matching stepwise course should not, by itself, be scored as evidence for F01 over F00.

Whether the course has been smooth or stepwise, whether vascular events or risk factors are present, and whether cognitive deficits are evenly or patchily distributed.

Assuming any dementia in a person with vascular risk factors is automatically vascular dementia, without checking whether the actual course matches a stepwise pattern.