‘Asians with dementia lose more years of life’
RESEARCH SHOWS ETHNIC MINORITIES HAVE MORE RISK FACTORS
BRITISH Asians with dementia are at higher risk of early death than their white counterparts, new research has revealed.
According to findings of the study, Asian people with dementia die 2.97 years younger and black people 2.66 years younger than white Britons with similar conditions.
The research conducted by academics at the University College London (UCL) and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, covered the 21-year health records of 662,882 people aged 65-plus between 1997 and 2018.
It found that dementia rates have increased across all ethnic groups.
Black people are 22 per cent more likely to get dementia than their white peers, while it is 17 per cent less common among those of south Asian backgrounds.
The study was published in the medical journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia and showed that south Asian and black people are diagnosed younger, survive for less time and die younger than white people.
“The earlier age of dementia diagnosis in people of black and south Asian [origin] … may be related to the higher prevalence of some risk factors for dementia such as, in older south Asians, fewer years of education, and in both groups hypertension [high blood pressure], diabetes and obesity,” the researchers wrote in their paper reported by the Guardian.
“Black and south Asian people survived for less time after dementia diagnosis and they died at a younger age,” Dr Naaheed Mukadam of UCL’s division of psychiatry and five others wrote.
“Overall, our findings show black and south Asian patients are diagnosed with dementia at a younger age and die at a younger age with dementia than white patients, losing more years of life,” they said.
On black and south Asian people dying sooner than white people, Mukadam said: “We do not know if earlier death after dementia diagnosis is because dementia is picked up at a later stage in minority ethnic groups and therefore people decline faster, if underlying risk factors in these groups contribute to worsen overall health or if there is a difference in post-diagnostic support that results in these differences.”
Dr Habib Naqvi, director of the NHS Race and Health Observatory, urges health authorities to be ‘more culturally appropriate and sensitive’ to address health inequalities affecting ethnic minority communities.
“Dementia is a ‘silent killer’ affecting Asian, black and other ethnic minority groups disproportionately, and tragically, at a younger age. These findings are critical and should be a call to action for the NHS and wider social care profession,” he said.
“Evidence shows ethnic minority patients and carers are already more likely to be isolated from mainstream healthcare services. Prolonged delays in seeking support, combined with health and care services that often do not meet diverse needs, can leave vulnerable dementia patients and their families in ‘crisis’.”