for these disorders have  been developed in close consultation with the expert groups for
each of the disease entities and align as closely as possible with the current consensus cri-
teria for each of them. The potential utility of  biomarkers is also discussed in relation to
diagnosis. Dementia is subsumed under the newly named entity major neurocognitive dis-
order , although the term dementia  is not precluded from use in the etiological subtypes in
which that term is standard. Furthermore, DSM-5 recognizes a less severe level of cogni-
tive impairment, mild neurocognitive disorder,  which can also be a focus of care, and which
in DSM-IV was subsumed under “Cognitive Disorder Not Otherwise Specified.” Diagnos-
tic criteria are provided for both these synd romic entities, followed by diagnostic criteria
for the different etiological subtypes. Several of the NCDs frequently coexist with one an-
other, and their relationships may be multip ly characterized under different chapter sub-
headings, including “Differential Diagnosis” (e.g., NCD due to Alzheimer’s disease vs.
vascular NCD), “Risk and Prognostic Factors”  (e.g., vascular path ology increasing the
clinical expression of Alzheimer’s disease), and/or “Comorbidity” (e.g., mixed Alzhei-
mer’s disease–vascular pathology). 
The term dementia  is retained in DSM-5 for contin uity and may be used in settings
where physicians and patients are accustomed to this term. Although dementia is the cus-
tomary term for disorders like the degenerative  dementias that usually affect older adults,
the term neurocognitive disorder  is widely used and often preferred for conditions affect-
ing younger individuals, such as impairment secondary to traumatic brain injury or HIV