A new analysis, conducted by researchers at Emory University in Atlanta, has determined that African Americans are significantly more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than White Americans. The data showed that after adjusting for age, gender, and education, African Americans are 64 percent more likely than Whites to have Alzheimer’s disease. The study found that 8.6 percent of African Americans develop Alzheimer’s disease compared to just 5.5. percent of Whites.
Lead author Kyle Steenland, a professor of environmental health and epidemiology at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health. stated that ” a 64 percent higher incidence among African-Americans is quite a large difference, in our view. We wanted to come up with an overall estimate of racial differences to help motivate further exploration of possible causes, such as biological, psychological and socioeconomic factors.”
The article, “A Meta-Analysis of Alzheimer’s Disease Incidence and Prevalence Comparing African-Americans and Caucasians,” was published on the website of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. It may be accessed here.
