Why 75% of Dementia Patients Are Unaware They Have It, Rising to 85% for Mexican Americans
A brand new examine reveals that over 75% of older adults with dementia might not know they’ve the illness, with consciousness charges even decrease amongst Mexican Americans.
The examine, performed in Nueces County, Texas, highlights that almost all of these adults are usually not identified due to varied components together with doctor hesitance and the complexity of patient-doctor relationships.
Awareness and Ethnic Disparities in Dementia Diagnosis
More than 75% of older adults with dementia might not notice they’ve the situation, in accordance to a examine from the University of Michigan.
The unawareness fee is even increased — reaching 85% — amongst Mexican Americans, the biggest group inside the U.S. Hispanic and Latino inhabitants.
The examine, performed with contributors in Nueces County, Texas, discovered that fewer than 7% of these categorized as having possible dementia, primarily based on cognitive assessments, lacked a main care supplier.
The outcomes had been printed right now (January 14) within the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
Public Health Challenge and Missed Opportunities
“Dementia diagnosis unawareness is a public health issue that must be addressed,” stated senior writer Lewis Morgenstern, M.D., professor of neurology, neurosurgery, and emergency medication at University of Michigan Medical School and professor of epidemiology on the U-M School of Public Health.
“The diagnosis of dementia provides the opportunity to seek out treatment and home care services to help both patients and caregivers. If the diagnosis is not given, or the understanding of the diagnosis is unclear, it is a missed opportunity.”
Investigators discovered no link between entry to main care and consciousness of dementia prognosis. In different phrases, they weren’t at midnight about their prognosis for lack of communication with their physician.
In truth, researchers suspect that the character of patient-physician relationships is a central purpose for the notice hole.
Physician Hesitance and Cultural Competence
“The physician may not be diagnosing the patient or may be withholding the diagnosis of dementia,” stated first writer Josh Martins-Caulfield, a graduate of the U-M School of Public Health and medical pupil on the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
“In practice, physicians often hesitate to diagnose dementia, citing reasons such as insufficient time with individual patients to conduct the screening process or not having dementia-specific training. The discomfort of providing the diagnosis may also lead them to wait for patients or family members to raise concerns about memory issues rather than initiating discussions proactively.”
Several research have discovered that almost all of older adults within the U.S. with possible dementia go both undiagnosed or are unaware of a prognosis. One 2018 report revealed that Hispanic and Latino adults were more likely to be undiagnosed.
“Cultural competence is crucial in treating all patients, especially when dealing with a heavily stigmatized disease,” Morgenstern stated.
Caregiving Burden Unaffected by Awareness
Despite the dearth of dementia consciousness discovered within the examine, having a proper prognosis didn’t scale back a caregiver’s perceived burden.
This could possibly be, researchers counsel, as a result of the prognosis forces caregivers to rapidly confront the elevated tasks that include the prognosis of dementia in a liked one, together with decision-making and managing day by day care.
“Caregiving can be immensely taxing, particularly when balancing one’s own family responsibilities and personal life,” stated Darin B. Zahuranec, M.D., M.S., co-author and a professor of neurology at U-M Medical School.
“Effective care necessitates accurate diagnosis combined with comprehensive emotional support and guidance for caregivers to access essential resources.”
Reference: “Dementia diagnosis unawareness and caregiver burden in a multi-ethnic cohort” 14 January 2025, Journal of General Internal Medicine.
DOI: 10.1007/s11606-024-09333-1
Additional authors: Roshanak Mehdipanah, Ph.D., Emily M. Briceño, Ph.D., Wen Chang, M.S., Steven G. Heeringa, Ph.D., Kenneth M. Langa, M.D., Ph.D., Darin B. Zahuranec, M.D. and Nelda Garcia, all of University of Michigan, and Xavier F. Gonzales, Ph.D., of Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi.
Funding/disclosures: This examine was funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R01NS100687) and National Institute on Aging (R01AG069148), each of the National Institutes of Health.
