Background: Alcohol-related dementia (ARD) is a heterogeneous long-term cognitive problem that can develop in the course of alcoholism. Current understanding of ARD remains limited.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review to synthesize available data on the epidemiology of ARD, through searching the relevant studies in the PubMed, PsycINFO, and ALOIS. "Alcohol" and "dementia" were used as keywords.

Results: We included articles published between January 1, 1991 and February 29, 2016, where language was not limited. Of the 9 identified articles, the prevalence of ARD ranged from 1.19/1000 in multiday admission patients residing in the United Kingdom to 25.6% in elderly clinic alcoholics from the United States. The proportion of ARD in early-onset dementia taken from 3 studies was approximately 10%, whereas only 1.28% in late-onset dementia taken from 1 study.

Conclusions: Considering the relatively high proportion of ARD in early-onset dementia and its potentially reversible course, future investigation into ARD is necessary.