Dementia rates over 20% higher among black adults than UK average

Dementia rates are 22% higher among black people in the UK compared to white people, while black and South Asian dementia patients die younger, and sooner after diagnosis, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The authors of the study, published in Alzheimer's & Dementia , say their findings demonstrate a need for more targeted interventions to reduce dementia risks and improve treatment outcomes in ethnic minority communities. The research team studied primary care and hospital health records in the UK from 1997 to 2018, incorporating data from 662,882 people aged over 65. They found the overall prevalence of dementia among people over 65 in the UK to be 11. In comparisons between ethnic groups, they found that after controlling for factors such as age, sex and socioeconomic status, black people had a 22% higher incidence of dementia recorded than white people, while recorded incidence in the South Asian population was 17% below the average. The researchers also confirmed results from previous studies finding a younger average age at dementia diagnosis for South Asian and black people, relative to white people in the UK. While this study did not review the reasons for differences in dementia incidence between groups, the researchers point to prior evidence that black people may be more likely to develop dementia due to higher prevalence of dementia risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, and obesity.