(The Dallas Examiner) – Alzheimer’s disease impacts African Americans at least twice the rate of White Americans. Latin Americans are affected at least 1.5 times the rate of White Americans. African Americans make up 19% of those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Latin Americans make up 14%, while Whites make up 10% of those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
Although communities of color suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia at far higher rates than Whites, they are less likely to be diagnosed until much later. Research conducted by the National Institute of Health show that Blacks and Hispanics face a higher tendency to received delayed or inadequate care for Alzheimer’s. Even with a diagnosis, African Americans are less likely to experience high-quality care from the health care system due to bias and discrimination.
“Black Americans in particular are about 13% of the population but close to 20% of those with Alzheimer’s disease,” Stephanie Monroe, vice president and senior advisor of health and equity and access at UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, said during the recent Reporting on Alzheimer’s Unequal Toll in Communities of Color webinar hosted by the Center for Health Journalism.
Monroe also discussed predictors of the disease.
“We often see Alzheimer’s disease in families which have vascular issues, heart disease, cardiovascular issues, diabetes, obesity. Things of this nature seem to be a better predictor of people who may go on later to develop Alzheimer’s disease,” she explained.
Alzheimer’s is a unique disease that impacts the brain. It is the most common type of dementia and has no cure. One in nine adults over the age of 65 will develop Alzheimer’s.
“When we talk about Alzheimer’s, we often just think of it as memory loss, but it affects everything. It affects our breathing. It affects our ability to remember how to swallow, how to let the body function in the way the body is intended to function,” Monroe explained.
Family members who care for loved ones with the disease are forced to navigate a problematic health care landscape while often putting their own lives on hold.
“If one person in the family has Alzheimer’s disease, everyone in the family has Alzheimer’s disease,” Monroe said.
This crisis is slated to get worse, with cases of Alzheimer’s among African Americans projected to increase four-fold by 2060, the result of the complex interplay of racism, inadequate health care and genetics. According to Monroe, it is predicted that by 2023, 40% of those with Alzheimer’s disease will be African American or Latin American.
“If we looked at all of the diseases in America, those that are in the top 10 in terms of what’s killing people, it is the only one which is on the rise, about 145% per year,” Monroe explained, “We’ve seen lower rates in terms of breast cancer, prostate, heart disease, stroke, HIV, but again, Alzheimer’s, which is an epidemic proportion in the U.S. contributing to the deaths of nearly 6.7 million people eventually, since there is no cure.”
Along with genetics and biology, the community in which the person resides is also a factor.
“Social and structural determinants of health that make Alzheimer’s something that frankly, you can see on a map by ZIP code in certain areas depending on what’s going on in that area with educational level and quality of education. The environment, food and good nutrition, clean environments, opportunities to exercise,” Monroe stated.
She shared that the states with the highest prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease include Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Florida, Michigan and New York.
Petra Niles, gerontologist and senior manager of African American services at Alzheimer’s Los Angeles, discussed the daily realities and challenges that the Black community faces due to the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease in the community.
“The higher incidents of blood pressure and blood sugar, diabetes, that puts them at higher risk this disease,” she explained, “Challenging then, access to care, the ability to get the proper workups when needed, starting with primary care.”
Other challenges include lack of transportation to get to proper health facilities, legal and financial planning for medical treatment and stigmas surrounding the disease.
“Stigma prevents individuals, the families, from reaching out for help,” Niles stated.
Although there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, there is treatment that can assist in slowing the progression of the disease.