It's News to Most: Heart Health, Dementia Linked
February 11, 2008
(USA TODAY) -- Darryl White had no idea that diabetes and other cardiovascular risk factors put him in line for dementia -- including Alzheimer's.
Now he does, but it's too late: White, a 61-year-old African-American from a suburb of Madison, Wis., was diagnosed with Alzheimer's more than four years ago when he was in his late 50s and lost his job as a parole officer because of the memory loss.
A survey of more than 2,000 people nationwide, including 1,210 black Americans, shows most people don't know about the connection between cardiovascular conditions and the risk for dementia.
Richard Day Research conducted the survey in January for the Alzheimer's Association and the American Heart Association.
The survey, which will be released Tuesday, found:
* One-third of black Americans reported having a diagnosis of high blood pressure; about one in five said they had high blood cholesterol.
* More than half of the African-Americans in the survey realized that such factors put them at higher risk of having a heart attack or a stroke, but just 8% realized such conditions put them at an elevated risk of dementia, a general term for brain diseases that cause confusion and memory problems. Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia.
"There's evidence to show that African-Americans are at greater risk of heart disease, strokes and dementia," says Emil Matarese, a spokesman for the American Stroke Association. He says blacks who know about the risk can take action early in life to ward off such diseases.
By 2030, the number of African-Americans ages 65 and older is expected to double to 6.9 million, says Jennifer Manly of the Alzheimer's Association. People ages 65 and older are at increased risk of Alzheimer's, she says.
African-Americans can't do anything about advancing age, but they can take steps to reduce their risk of developing diabetes, high blood pressure or clogged arteries, Manly says. For example, a healthful, low-fat diet and regular exercise can reduce the risks.
White says he wishes he had gotten that message early on -- when he still might have been able to prevent the weight gain, diabetes and high blood pressure he developed in midlife.
White, who is in the early stages of the disease, has mild forgetfulness. He is still living at home, and he volunteers with the Alzheimer's Association. He has a strong family history of Alzheimer's and might have developed the disease no matter what, but he wonders whether he could have slowed down the memory loss that led to the loss of his job.
"I was unaware that I was at such high risk," he says.
Copyright 2008 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
