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Dementia and Race: Are There Differences Between African Americans and Caucasians?
Author(s) -
Miles Toni P.,
Froehlich Tanya E.,
Bogardus Sidney T.,
Inouye Sharon K.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1046/j.1532-5415.2001.49096.x
Subject(s) - dementia , etiology , medicine , race (biology) , gerontology , vascular dementia , cognition , racial differences , demography , psychiatry , ethnic group , disease , pathology , sociology , anthropology , biology , botany
This study provides an overview of racial differences in etiology and prevalence of dementia. Preliminary findings indicate that the clinical and molecular etiologies of dementia differ between races. African Americans have a higher prevalence of vascular dementia and a lower prevalence of Parkinsonian dementia than do Caucasians. The genetic etiologies of Alzheimer's‐type dementia appear to differ between African Americans and Caucasians. The variations in dementia etiologies and in cognitive testing accuracy between races suggests the urgent need to develop racially appropriate cognitive assessment methods and to develop preventive and treatment etiologies differently according to racial background of individual patients.