(HealthDay News) — In the United States, Black and Hispanic adults are more likely to self-report subjective cognitive decline at a younger age than white adults, according to a study published online June 24 in BMC Public Health.
Sangeeta Gupta, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.B.S., from Delaware State University in Dover, used data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (2015 to 2018) to identify disparities in the prevalence of subjective cognitive decline among 179,852 white, Black, and Hispanic noninstitutionalized adults (≥45 years of age).
Gupta found that 10.8% of adults reported SCD (10.7% for white individuals, 12.3% for Black individuals, and 9.9% for Hispanic individuals). Compared with white respondents, Black and Hispanic respondents with subjective cognitive decline were more likely to be in the younger age group (45 to 54 years), less educated, low income, without access to healthcare, living alone, and living with functional limitations. Only half of respondents had discussed cognitive decline with a healthcare professional. Among all racial/ethnic groups, the prevalence of selected chronic conditions that are cognitive risk factors was significantly higher in those with subjective cognitive decline compared with those without subjective cognitive decline.
“Looking to the future, as we see more younger Black and Hispanic individuals developing cognitive decline symptoms, this may mean we have higher numbers in those groups not only struggling to be independent but also possibly progressing towards Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia,” Gupta said in a statement.
