痴呆症通常被錯誤地稱為「老年人痴呆症」，這反映了以前普遍但不正確的信念，即嚴重的智力下降是正常的衰老現象。
Dementia is often incorrectly referred to as "dementia of the old people", which reflects the previously common but incorrect belief that severe mental decline is a normal phenomenon of aging.
