Modifiable Risk Factors Increase Dementia Risk More for Some Minority Groups

Findings show variance in associated risk with hypertension, obesity, diabetes, low HDL cholesterol, and sleep disorders

By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Oct. 12, 2023 (HealthDay News) — The impact of modifiable risk factors, including hypertension, obesity, and diabetes, on dementia risk is magnified for some minority ethnic groups, according to a study published online Oct. 11 in PLOS ONE.

Naaheed Mukadam, Ph.D., from University College London, and colleagues investigated ethnic differences in the associations of potentially modifiable risk factors with dementia. The analysis included anonymized English electronic primary care records for 865,674 adults aged 65 years and older (1997 to 2018).

When compared with White people, the researchers found that hypertension, dyslipidemia, obesity, and diabetes were more common in people from minority ethnic groups. In South Asian people, the impact of hypertension, obesity, diabetes, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and sleep disorders increased dementia risk. For Black people, the impact of hypertension was greater.

“We found that not only are some risk factors for dementia more common in minority ethnic groups but that the impact of some of these risk factors is even greater than in the White population,” the authors said in a statement. “So we need tailored dementia prevention, taking into account ethnicity and risk factor profile to ensure dementia prevention is equitable.”