Earlier age of dementia onset in Hispanics

Past studies suggest that U.S. Hispanics have a younger age of dementia onset than white non-Hispanics. However, most of those studies were performed on the East Coast. Since backgrounds and family origins of Hispanics differ in various regions of the United States, investigators set out to determine if the same pattern was true for Hispanics living on the West Coast (Fitten et al., 2014).

In a study of 110 Hispanic and 180 white non-Hispanic adults age 50 and older with either Alzheimer’s disease or vascular dementia at the time of their entry into the study, researchers found that on average, Hispanics were 4 years younger than white non-Hispanics at the time of diagnosis of both forms of dementia. This age difference was not explained by the apolipoprotein ε4 genotype, gender, years of education, or history of vascular disease or diabetes.

This study suggests that the age of dementia onset tends to be younger for Hispanics living on both coasts of the United States compared with non-Hispanic peers. More research is needed to identify and better understand the factors that may contribute to this disparity.