Schears, M., Bustard, L.
Background: Racial disparities in dementia incidence, prevalence, and mortality have steadily increased over time.
Objective: Compare and contrast Caucasian and African American dementia mortality rates by time and age group in the United States.
Methods: Dementia mortality rates from 1999-2016 were compared by race and age using data from the CDC compressed mortality database.
Results: Dementia mortality rates in the United States increased for African Americans and Caucasians over the age of 65 years-old by 294% between 1999 and 2016. African Americans (50.8 deaths per 100,000) have higher reported mortality rates than Caucasians (44.2 deaths per 100,000) for individuals 65 to 74 years-old, while Caucasians have a higher overall mortality rate (428.8 per 100,000) than African Americans.
Conclusion: More refined diagnostic tools and surveillance practices should be developed to correctly diagnose dementia, administer care, and report dementia-related deaths.
July 20, 2020.