Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­

Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­

Explore the latest content from across our publications
Join The Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­

Log In

Forgot Password?
Create New Account

Loading... please wait

Abstract Details

Race and Sex Differences in Risk of Dementia Diagnosis Among Older Veterans
Aging, Dementia, and Behavioral Neurology
Aging and Dementia Posters (7:00 AM-5:00 PM)
030
To examine the impact of race and sex on incidence of dementia diagnosis among older U.S. Veterans.
The U.S. military is increasingly diverse.  Veterans may be at heightened risk for dementia due to military exposures.  Several recent studies have reported differences in dementia risk by race and sex in non-Veteran populations, but the impact of these factors on dementia risk among older Veterans is unknown.
We compared risk of dementia diagnosis among four race/ethnicity groups (Non-Hispanic White, Non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and Asian) and by sex among a random sample of all Veterans > 60 years in the Veterans Health Administration 10/1/1999-9/30/2019. We included Veterans without baseline prevalent dementia (over a 2-year baseline) with >1 visit during the follow-up period (average 7.9 years).  Dementia was defined as inpatient/outpatient diagnoses using International Classification of Disease (ICD) 9th and 10th Edition codes recommended by VA's Dementia Steering Committee.  We conducted Fine-Grey models adjusted for age and sex/race to determine time to dementia diagnosis.
The analytic cohort included 774,520 Veterans (mean age 72.5) after excluding 32,519 with baseline dementia, 116,751 without follow-up, and 47 missing race and sex data.  About 12% (n=96,945) were diagnosed with dementia during follow-up.  In models fully adjusted for age and sex, compared to white Veterans, Hispanic (HR: 1.97, 95% CI 1.89.2.06) and Black Veterans (HR: 1.60, 95% CI 1.57-1.63) had an increased risk of dementia diagnosis.  Increased risk for Asian Veterans was statistically significant but small (HR: 1.17, 95% CI=1.08-1.26).  In models adjusted for age and race, female Veterans had a statistically significant but small increased risk of dementia diagnosis compared to males (HR: 1.22, 95% CI 1.17-1.27).
Black and Hispanic Veterans had almost two-fold greater risk compared to white Veterans. Females had a small increased risk compared to male Veterans.  These results suggest health disparities requiring further study.
Authors/Disclosures

PRESENTER 		No disclosure on file
No disclosure on file
No disclosure on file
No disclosure on file
Deborah E. Barnes, PhD, MPH The institution of Dr. Barnes has received research support from the National Institutes of Health, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, Alzheimer's Association, and the California Department of Public Health.
No disclosure on file
Kristine Yaffe, MD Dr. Yaffe has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving on a Scientific Advisory or Data Safety Monitoring board for Lilly. Dr. Yaffe has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving on a Scientific Advisory or Data Safety Monitoring board for Quintiles. Dr. Yaffe has received personal compensation in the range of $10,000-$49,999 for serving as an officer or member of the Board of Directors for Alector. The institution of Dr. Yaffe has received research support from NIH. The institution of Dr. Yaffe has received research support from DOD. The institution of Dr. Yaffe has received research support from Veterans Affairs.