JAMA Neurol: Incredible! Nearly three times as many people die from dementia as previously thought!

14, 2020 // -- Scientists from Boston University School of Medicine and others have found that dementia may be the underlying cause of nearly three times more deaths in the United States than official records, according to a study published in the international journal JAMA Neurology.
Photo Source: CC0 Public Domain researchers estimate that about 13.6 percent of deaths are attributed to dementia, which is more than 2.7 times higher than the 5.0 percent who die, suggesting that dementia may be a potential cause of death in the population, and that understanding how people die is critical to prioritization and resource allocation.
researcher Dr Andrew Stokes said: 'In the case of dementia, it seems very challenging for us to get an accurate number of deaths, including the lack of routine testing for dementia in people in the primary care system, and the findings suggest that the burden of death from dementia may be higher than is known, highlighting the importance of expanding dementia prevention and care.'
researchers found that the number of underrated people may vary by race, with 7.1 times as many older black people dying from dementia as the government records, 4.1 times as many Hispanics dying from dementia, and 4.1 times as many white older people dying from dementia The number is 2.3 times higher than the government has recorded, and dementia-related deaths are reported much less among men than among women, and perhaps more for those without a high school education; previous studies have shown that dementia is very common among black male adults (with lower levels of education).
In addition to underestimating the number of deaths from dementia, official data also seem to underestimate the racial and ethnic differences associated with dementia mortality, and researchers say there is an urgent need to reallocate resources to address the different proportions of the dementia burden among blacks and Hispanics.
researchers analyzed data from a nationally representative 7,342 seniors in the Health and Retirement Study, an HRS program that collected data from the beginning of an individual's move into a nursing home. Data from 2,000 adults who had been in the study queue until 2009 analyzed the association between dementia and death in the population after adjusting for a variety of variables, including gender, age, race, educational level, regional and medical diagnosis in the United States.
the study suggests that dementia may represent an important factor in the deaths of older Americans, and that the number of people with dementia is much higher than the number reported in conventional death records, the researchers said.
researchers will continue to delve into the causes and mechanisms.
() Original source: Andrew C. Stokes et al. Estimates of the Association of Dementia With US Mortality Levels Using Linked Survey and Mortality Records. JAMA Neurol. Published online August 24, 2020. DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2020.2831.