You may be twice as likely to receive a dementia diagnosis if you live here

Location, location, location!

Where you live in the US can affect your chances of getting a dementia diagnosis, a new study from the University of Michigan and Dartmouth College finds.

Nearly 7 million Americans have been diagnosed with dementia, the researchers said, while millions more likely have symptoms but have not been formally diagnosed.

The study authors found that a person is up to twice as likely to receive a dementia diagnosis in some regions than in others. For example, someone in Wichita Falls, Texas, may be twice as likely to be diagnosed as if they were in Minot, ND

“Even within a group of people who are all 80 years old, depending on where you live, you may be twice as likely to get a diagnosis,” said Julie Bynum, the study’s lead author and a geriatrician at the School of Medicine. of the University of Michigan. NPR.

The research, published last week in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, found that the change was most striking for people of color and Hispanics and those at the youngest end of the risk, between 66 and 74 years old.

Using Medicare and demographic data, the researchers created two maps. The first shows the percentage of people in each region who have received a formal diagnosis. The second map estimates what percentage should be based on age, race, education level, obesity and other dementia risk factors.

The differences between the two were stark, with parts of the Great Plains and the Southwest seeing fewer diagnoses than expected.

“We tell anecdotes about how hard it is to get a diagnosis, and maybe it’s harder in some places,” Bynum explained to NPR. “It’s not just your imagination. It’s actually different from country to country.”

The most common form of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, is a debilitating, progressive neurological condition that leads to a decline in memory, lack of mobility and other complications.

Some lifestyle factors that can increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease include tobacco and alcohol use, sleep quality, high blood pressure, social isolation, high cholesterol, and inactivity.

This study suggests that the likelihood of diagnosis is more related to access to health care and language and cultural barriers than individual risk factors.

Diagnosing dementia can be a complicated process because there is no single test that can tell if you have dementia. A doctor may use cognitive assessments, brain scans, and psychiatric evaluations to make a diagnosis.

A formal diagnosis is essential to access and insurance coverage of the latest biomarker tests, brain imaging scans and dementia-slowing medications.

The US Food and Drug Administration recently approved Kisunla and Leqembi to treat early stage Alzheimer’s disease.

Even in cases of dementia where treatment is not an option, a diagnosis can support the patient’s plan of care.

Bynum hopes the results of this study will spur change.

“For communities and health systems, this should be a call to action to spread knowledge and increase efforts to make services available to people,” she said. “And for individuals, the message is that you may need to advocate for yourself to get what you need, including cognitive screenings.”