title: Effect of socioeconomic disparities on incidence of dementia among biracial older adults: prospective study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine whether observed differences in dementia rates between black and white older people living in the community could be explained by measures of socioeconomic status (income, financial adequacy, education, and literacy) and health related factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  General community from two clinic sites in the United States (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Memphis, Tennessee).
  
  
  METHODS
  2457 older people (mean age 73.6 years; 1019 (41.5%) black; 1233 (50.2%) women), dementia-free at baseline, in the Health, Aging, and Body Composition study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Dementia was determined over 12 years (ending January 2011) by prescribed dementia drugs, hospital records, and decline in global cognitive scores. The influence of socioeconomic status and health related factors on dementia rates was examined in a series of Cox proportional hazard models in which these variables were added sequentially in covariate blocks.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Over follow-up, 449 (18.3%) participants developed dementia. Black participants were more likely than white participants to develop dementia (211 (20.7%) v 238 (16.6%), P<0.001; unadjusted hazard ratio 1.44, 95% confidence interval 1.20 to 1.74). The hazard ratio lessened somewhat after adjustment for demographics, apolipoprotein E e4, comorbidities, and lifestyle factors (1.37, 1.12 to 1.67) but was greatly reduced and no longer statistically significant when socioeconomic status was added (1.09, 0.87 to 1.37).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that differences in the burden of risk factors, especially socioeconomic status, may contribute to the higher rates of dementia seen among black compared with white older people. Strategies aimed at reducing these disparities may favorably affect the incidence of dementia.
authors.affiliation: Neurology, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, 4150 Clement Street Box 181, San Francisco, CA 94121, USA.
authors.forename: Kristine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yaffe
authors.forename: Cherie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Falvey
authors.forename: Tamara B
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Newman
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Satterfield
authors.forename: Annemarie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koster
authors.forename: Hilsa
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ayonayon
authors.forename: Eleanor
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Simonsick
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology*; D048909:Diabetes Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011203:Poverty / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012494:Sampling Studies; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*