Study: Immediate Family of African-Americans With Alzheimer's at Higher Risk

Immediate family members of African-Americans suffering from Alzheimer's disease have a higher cumulative risk of developing dementia than relatives of white Alzheimer's patients, according to Boston University researchers.

Relatives of African-American Alzheimer's disease patients are 1.6 times more likely to suffer dementia by age 85 than relatives of white Alzheimer's disease patients, the researchers reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Researchers analyzed data from 17 medical centers, covering 17,639 first-degree biological relatives and 2,474 spouses of 2,339 white Alzheimer patients and 2,281 first-degree biological relatives and 257 spouses of 255 African-American Alzheimer patients. The data, taken from the Multi-Institutional Research in Alzheimer's Genetic Epidemiology Study, covered the period of May 1991 through March 2001.

Investigators found that the spouses of African-American Alzheimer's patients are 1.8 times more likely to develop dementia than spouses of white patients.

"These data provide estimates of dementia risk that can be used to offer counseling to family members of patients with Alzheimer's disease," the researchers reported.

Other sources: Journal of the American Medical Association