Approximately 23% of Alzheimer’s and related dementia cases in individuals aged 65 and older can be linked to controllable risk factors such as diabetes and physical inactivity; that percentage varies depending on race and ethnicity, according to new research from the .
“There is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, so preventing or delaying this disease by reducing controllable risk factors is an urgent public health priority,” said study author and 撸sir视频 Cancer Center researcher Song-Yi Park.
The study, published in the January 17 issue of , the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, emphasizes the urgent need to address modifiable factors that are most relevant to each ethnic population to lower the risk of these debilitating conditions.
Preventing or delaying this disease and other related forms of dementia by reducing controllable risk factors is an urgent public health priority
—Song-Yi Park
Top contributing risk factors varied across demographics:
- Diabetes for Latinos, and also less education and low socioeconomic status
- Low socioeconomic status for Native 撸sir视频ians, and also physical inactivity, and less education
- Low socioeconomic status for Blacks and also low social contact and high blood pressure
- Low socioeconomic status for Whites, and also smoking
- Physical inactivity for Japanese Americans and also diabetes
The study involved about 92,000 participants from the (MEC), representing diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, including Japanese American, White, Latino, Black, and Native 撸sir视频ian. MEC is a large epidemiological study that follows more than 215,000 撸sir视频ʻi and Los Angeles residents for health diseases since 1993.
Participants completed detailed questionnaires covering education, medical history, medications, physical activity, sleep patterns, and dietary habits. The socioeconomic conditions of their neighborhoods were determined based on residential addresses.
Disparities in diagnosed cases
After a nine-year follow-up on average, about 16,500 participants were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or related dementia, with notable disparities among racial groups, particularly higher percentages among Black (24%) and Native 撸sir视频ian (14%) participants.
Park highlighted the disparity among Native 撸sir视频ians, previously not recognized because they are grouped with Asian Americans in research, although studies consistently show Asian Americans have the lowest risk for these conditions. The study observed that 12 controllable risk factors, together, explained about 23% of cases in both women and men.
Controllable risk factors accounted for 33% of cases among Latinos, 29% among Native 撸sir视频ians, 28% among Black individuals, 22% among White individuals, and 14% among Japanese Americans.
“Our findings confirm that less education, low socioeconomic status, and other risk factors in middle age account for substantial but varying proportions of dementia cases later in life across racial and ethnic populations,” said Park. “The study reveals the need for tailored interventions for various racial and ethnic groups, specific to more prevalent risk factors. It also highlights the importance of discovering other risk factors in racial and ethnic groups whose cases are not as well explained by known risk factors.”
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