PREVALENCE AND RISK FACTORS FOR ADRD AMONG ARAB AMERICANS

In the United States (U.S.), Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) afflict over 4.7 million individuals ages 65 or older. Arab Americans are a subgroup of whites in which ADRD is not well understood. This study estimates prevalence and risk factors for ADRD among Arab Americans ages 45 or older. Data for 2000-2017 from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) using the region of birth question was used (N=222,219). The age- and sex-adjusted prevalence of ADRD was 10.3% for foreign-born Arab Americans compared to approximately 7.5% for US-born non-Hispanic whites (NHW), blacks and Asians. The prevalence of ADRD was 8.6% for Hispanics (all p-values <.0001). When controlling for age and sex, Arab Americans were 1.4 times (OR=1.02,1.93) more likely to have ADRD compared to US-born NHW. Future studies should capture other generations of Arab Americans to better understand the trend of ADRD among this understudied, often invisible population.