Frequency of Dementia Etiologies in Four Ethnic Groups

• Published in: Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders Vol. 22; no. 1; pp. 42 - 47
• Main Authors: Hou, Craig E., Yaffe, Kristine, Pérez-Stable, Eliseo J., Miller, Bruce L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel, Switzerland Karger 01.01.2006; S. Karger AG
• Subjects: Age of Onset; Aged; Alzheimer Disease - epidemiology; Alzheimer Disease - etiology; Asian - statistics & numerical data; Biological and medical sciences; Black or African American; Black People - statistics & numerical data; Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases; Dementia; Dementia - classification; Dementia - epidemiology; Dementia - etiology; Education; Ethnicity - statistics & numerical data; Female; Headache. Facial pains. Syncopes. Epilepsia. Intracranial hypertension. Brain oedema. Cerebral palsy; Hispanic or Latino - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander - statistics & numerical data; Nervous system (semeiology, syndromes); Neurology; Neuropsychological Tests; Original Research Article; United States - epidemiology; Vascular diseases and vascular malformations of the nervous system; White People - statistics & numerical data; United States; Frontotemporal lobar degeneration; Vascular dementia; Alzheimer disease; Progressive supranuclear palsy; Dementia with Lewy bodies; Nervous system diseases; Cognitive disorder; Lewy body disease; Ethnic group; Cerebral disorder; Etiology; Central nervous system disease; Lewy body dementia; Degeneration; Degenerative disease; Alzheimer disease, Dementia with Lewy bodies; Dementia
• ISSN: 1420-8008; 1421-9824
• DOI: 10.1159/000093217

Background/Aims: Research on dementia among ethnically diverse populations in the USA has focused primarily on Alzheimer disease and vascular dementia, but there are limited data on other neurodegenerative causes of dementia. Methods: To determine the frequency of neurodegenerative disorders in four ethnic groups, data collected at Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers of California for assessments between 1992 and 2002 were analyzed retrospectively. Cases of Alzheimer disease, vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, frontotemporal lobar degeneration, Parkinson disease and progressive supranuclear palsy were identified for 452 Asian and Pacific Islander, 472 Black, 675 Latino and 4,926 White patients. Results: The percentage of non-Whites diagnosed as having dementia with Lewy bodies was lower than that of Whites. Frontotemporal lobar degeneration was as common in Asians and Pacific Islanders compared to Whites, but less common in Blacks and Latinos. Progressive supranuclear palsy was more frequent in Asians and Pacific Islanders compared to Whites, but equally common in Blacks and Latinos. Conclusion: Additional study is needed on the social and biological factors that influence the diagnosis and prevalence of non-Alzheimer and nonvascular dementias among diverse ethnic groups.