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Survival after dementia diagnosis in five racial/ethnic groups
Author(s) -
Mayeda Elizabeth R.,
Glymour M. Maria,
Quesenberry Charles P.,
Johnson Julene K.,
PérezStable Eliseo J.,
Whitmer Rachel A.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2016.12.008
Subject(s) - dementia , ethnic group , medicine , gerontology , demography , survival analysis , proportional hazards model , asian americans , disease , sociology , anthropology
Abstract Introduction Information on anticipated survival time after dementia diagnosis among racially/ethnically diverse patients is needed to plan for care and evaluate disparities. Methods Dementia‐free health care members aged ≥64 years were followed (1/1/2000–12/31/2013) for dementia diagnosis and subsequent survival (n = 23,032 Asian American; n = 18,778 African American; n = 21,000 Latino; n = 4543 American Indian/Alaska Native; n = 206,490 white). Kaplan–Meier curves were estimated for survival after dementia diagnosis by race/ethnicity. We contrasted mortality patterns among people with versus without dementia using Cox proportional hazards models. Results After dementia diagnosis (n = 59,494), whites had shortest median survival (3.1 years), followed by American Indian/Alaska Natives (3.4 years), African Americans (3.7 years), Latinos (4.1 years), and Asian Americans (4.4 years). Longer postdiagnosis survival among racial/ethnic minorities compared with whites persisted after adjustment for comorbidities. Racial/ethnic mortality inequalities among dementia patients mostly paralleled mortality inequalities among people without dementia. Discussion Survival after dementia diagnosis differs by race/ethnicity, with shortest survival among whites and longest among Asian Americans.