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Ethnic and Racial Disparities in the Association between Type II Diabetes Mellitus and Dementia

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Abstract

Evidence in the literature suggests an association between Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) and dementia, but this relationship has not been studied in the most recently available nationally representative datasets. This retrospective, observational, cross-sectional study of adults (60+ years of age) seeks to investigate this association across racial and ethnic groups in the most recently available National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) datasets. A multivariable logistic regression model is employed to investigate the association between T2DM and the diagnosis of dementia and assess disparities in racial and ethnic groups, while controlling for available covariates of interest. The analysis found no evidence of a relationship between T2DM and dementia even after adjusting for available covariates of interest (OR 1.13, 95% CI = 0.81–1.57). However, evidence of differences in the proportion with dementia was observed between ethnicities and race groups. Hispanic/Latinos were found to have more than double the odds of dementia compared to Non-Hispanic/Latinos (OR 2.08, 95% CI = 1.05–4.14), while the Other race group had 74% lower odds of dementia compared to the White race group (OR 0.26, 95% CI = 0.10–0.64). This study suggests that disparities in the risk of dementia remain for ethnic/racial groups. As minority populations continue to grow, educational and preventative measures for both diabetes and dementia are vital public health priorities. Perceptions of cognitive impairment, its association with T2DM, and the interventions needed to address the deficits may vary by culture and ethnic background; therefore, specific characteristics relevant to these populations should be further evaluated.

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Funding

The study conception, design, and analysis of this study was not supported by any funding. A fellowship award of $4500 was applied for and won (Campbell University’s Ester H. Howard Student Research Fellowship Program) to support the writing and submission of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmaceutical & Clinical Sciences, Campbell University, Buies Creek, NC, USA

    Halle Kahlenberg, Michael R. Jiroutek & Susan Avila Misciagno

Authors
  1. Halle Kahlenberg
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  2. Michael R. Jiroutek
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  3. Susan Avila Misciagno
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Data management and analysis were performed by Michael Jiroutek. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Halle Kahlenberg and Susan Avila Misciagno. All authors reviewed, commented on and edited all previous versions of the manuscript and all authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Susan Avila Misciagno.

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Ethics Approval

This is an observational study using de-identified, publicly available datasets and was therefore considered not human subject research by the Campbell University IRB.

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The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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Kahlenberg, H., Jiroutek, M.R. & Misciagno, S.A. Ethnic and Racial Disparities in the Association between Type II Diabetes Mellitus and Dementia. J. Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-023-01848-3

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