Charting a Higher Risk

New UTA research revealed that foreign- born women of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) descent are 2.5 times more likely to have an undiagnosed case of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) compared to U.S.-born white women.

The research, led by Assistant Professor of Kinesiology Tiffany Kindratt, appears in the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health.

“Alzheimer’s disease is growing, and half of the cases are usually undiagnosed,” says Dr. Kindratt, director of the Health Survey Research Lab at UTA. “That’s where we started to see a large disparity with MENA individuals.”

Her team examined data from 2000- 18 in both the National Health Interview Survey and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Findings revealed that age is the greatest risk factor.

An additional risk factor stems from a lack of early life education and its impact on the brain’s ability to cope with problems and challenges. Not having a high school education also increases the risk of having ADRD later on, Kindratt says.

She has argued for the addition of a MENA checkbox on federal forms, including the U.S. Census.

“Having a checkbox so someone can say they are of this descent would be much better than combing through data to infer that this is their identity,” she says.