Likelihood of dementia higher among black ethnic groups

Rates of dementia diagnosis are higher among black ethnic groups compared to white and Asian groups in the UK, a new UCL-led study has found. The study, published in Clinical Epidemiology , is the first to compare incidence of dementia diagnosis by ethnicity in any nationally representative sample. Researchers from UCL and King's College London analysed data from 2,511,681 people, including 66,083 who had a dementia diagnosis, from The Health Improvement Network primary care database between 2007 and 2015. They found that the incidence of dementia diagnosis was 25% higher among black women than white women, and 28% higher among black men than white men. Asian women and men were 18% and 12% less likely than white women and men, respectively, to have a dementia diagnosis. More research is needed to understand why people in certain ethnic groups are more likely to develop dementia. It could be that factors such as level of formal education, financial deprivation, smoking, physical activity, mental health and some mid-life health outcomes, which all affect dementia risk, differ between the groups.