African Americans more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease
Rollins researchers have conducted the only known meta-analysis of Alzheimer’s disease incidence by race and found that African Americans are 64% more likely to develop Alzheimer’s than Caucasians. After adjustments were made for age, gender, and education, the estimate for prevalence of Alzheimer’s was 5.5% for Caucasians and 8.6% for African Americans. The article ran in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease in January.
"A 64% higher incidence among African Americans is quite a large difference in our view," says Kyle Steenland, lead author and professor of environmental health and epidemiology. "We wanted to come up with an overall estimate of racial differences to help motivate further exploration of possible causes, such as biological, psychological, and socioeconomic factors."
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