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Older white adults less likely to report their own cognitive impairment
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The rate of U.S. adults older than 60 years reporting cognitive impairment increased among people of all races from 1997 to 2015 but less so among minority groups, according to data recently published in Preventing Chronic Disease.
“Culturally specific health education is needed in individuals, family members and health care providers to improve awareness and knowledge of signs and early symptoms of Alzheimer’s and other dementia,” Bei Wu, PhD, of New York University and the Aging Incubator, told Healio Family Medicine.
Wu and colleagues reviewed 155,682 responses from the National Health Interview Survey among patients older than 60 years to a question asking if a family member “was limited in any way because of difficulty remembering or because of experiencing periods of confusion.”
Wu and colleagues found that the among non-Hispanic white respondents, the rate went from 5.2% to 6.1% from 1997 to 2015.
“We were somewhat surprised by the findings that an increasing trend in self-reported cognitive impairment was found only among non-Hispanic white adults,” Wu said in the interview.
In addition, researchers found that though the rate self-reported cognitive impairment rate among Native Americans, Hispanics, non-Hispanic blacks and Asians was higher from 1997 to 2015, the results were insignificant.
“Members of racial minority groups may be less likely to seek treatment for psychiatric symptoms because of lack of access to care and/or cultural stigmatization. Moreover, racial minority populations may be less likely than the non-Hispanic white population to accept treatment for depression,” Wu said.
She also discussed the importance of clinicians asking their patients about memory problems.
“Cognitive impairment may serve as a precursor to future dementia. Early detection and self-awareness of cognitive impairment can facilitate timely medical treatments, appropriate care planning and prevention efforts,” Wu said. “[Therefore,] primary care physicians should share information with patients older than 65 years about signs and symptoms of memory loss and be more alert about changes in their memory that may interfere their daily activities.”
She added this is the first study that supplied a national trend estimate on self-reported cognitive impairment in five major racial groups that comprise the U.S. population. – by Janel Miller
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
Editor's Note: This story has been modified from its original posting to clarify some of the data researchers found.