Pathways explaining racial/ethnic disparities in incident all-cause dementia among middle-aged US adults

Abstract

Introduction: Racial disparities in dementia incidence exist, but less is known about their presence and drivers among middle-aged adults.

Methods: We used time-to-event analysis among a sample of 4378 respondents (age 40-59 years at baseline) drawn from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES III) with administrative linkage-spanning the years 1988-2014-to evaluate potential mediating pathways through socioeconomic status (SES), lifestyle, and health-related characteristics.

Results: Compared with Non-Hispanic White (NHW) adults, Non-White adults had a higher incidence of AD-specific (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.05, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.21, 3.49) and all-cause dementia (HR = 2.01, 95% CI: 1.36, 2.98). Diet, smoking, and physical activity were among characteristics on the pathway between race/ethnicity, SES, and dementia, with health-mediating effects of smoking and physical activity on dementia risk.

Discussion: We identified several pathways that may generate racial disparities in incident all-cause dementia among middle-aged adults. No direct effect of race was observed. More studies are needed to corroborate our findings in comparable populations.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; aging; dementia; modifiable risk factors; racial disparities; structural equations modeling.