A joint study between UCSF and the San Francisco Veterans Health Administration, pictured here, found significant disparities in dementia risk between black, Hispanic, white, Asian, and Native American veterans. (Photo: Sanfranman59)
A study conducted by the University of California, San Francisco and San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System found black and Hispanic veterans are significantly more likely to suffer from dementia than white, Asian, or Native American veterans.
The study followed almost 1.9 million veterans from October 1999 to September 2019. Every participant received their primary care through Veterans Health Administration facilities and were at least 55 years old at the start of the study. The found rate of dementia among age-adjusted demographics are as follow:
- 14 in 1,000 Native American or Native Alaskan veterans
- 12 in 1,000 Asian veterans
- 19 in 1,000 black veterans
- Almost 21 in 1,000 Hispanic veterans
- And almost 12 in 1,000 white veterans
Researchers were ultimately unable to determine the exact reason for the disparity, but several theories were addressed.
The study’s senior author Kristine Yaffe, MD, says that broadly, “U.S. veterans are at a high risk of dimension because of exposure to military-related risk factors, like traumatic brain injury and posttraumatic stress disorder, and high prevalence of cardiovascular and other non-military risk factors.” However, this does not accurately account for the significant disparity among different demographics, only that all service members are more likely to experience dementia compared to the civilian population.
The researchers also note that it is possible that differences in diagnosis criteria among VHA health care providers across the United States could have had an impact on the study’s results.
Yaffe and colleagues note that further studies are necessary to determine the cause of racial disparities, suggesting “other mechanisms may be at play, such as early life circumstances, or that there were differences in quality of health care, despite better access.”
The study was funded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and an NIA grant, and was published by JAMA on April 19. As of yet, the VA has not publicly commented on the findings.
Author: Christian Southards
Coming from a family with a proud military background and wanting to contribute his writing skills to a worthy cause, Christian began writing for the California American Legion in August of 2020. His father is a 25-year Army Veteran and his grandfather served in the Navy during Vietnam.
