The rate of dementia is significantly higher among seniors of certain racial and ethnic groups who are enrolled to receive care at Veterans Health Administration medical centers, a new study finds.
Study participants included about 1.9 million adults aged 55 years and older who were followed for approximately 10 years. The adjusted incidence of dementia per 1000 person-years was consistently higher for Black and Hispanic patients at 19 and 21, respectively. Incidence among other groups, in contrast, was 14 for American Indian or Alaska Native participants, 12 for Asian participants and 11 for White participants.
There was some variation by U.S. geographic region, the researchers found. But across most regions, these age-adjusted dementia incidence rates held steady. More study will be needed to uncover the reasons behind this disparity, wrote Erica Kornblith, Ph.D., of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues.
The VHA is the largest integrated health care system in the U.S. and its racial and ethnic diversity is growing alongside that of the U.S. overall, the authors noted.
“Dementia is a significant public health challenge and may have greater incidence among older adults from underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups,” they concluded.
Full findings were published in JAMA.
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