• Diagnoses and treatment of dementia vary widely across the United States, according to a new study.
  • In addition to geographic inequities, certain populations tend to be underdiagnosed, including Black and Hispanic individuals, and people aged 66-74.
  • The problem is likely the result of a combination of complex overlapping factors.

A person is much less likely to receive a diagnosis of, and treatment for, dementia in some areas of the United States than in others. This also applies to people in some historically marginalized population groups, according to a new study.

The investigation, which appears in Alzheimer’s & Dementiafound that the same person would have twice the chance of being correctly diagnosed and treated in some US areas than in others.

The authors of the study undertook an analysis of Medicare Fee-for-Service records for 4,842,034 older Medicare beneficiaries from 2018 to 2019 to observe diagnoses of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD).

They found the intensity of ADRD diagnosis differed from place to place, regardless of population risk factors, such as education level, obesity, smoking habits, and a diagnosis of diabetes.

Diagnosis intensity ranged from 0.69 to 1.47 among hospital referral regions.

Intensity was lowest for Black and Hispanic people, and for those aged 66 to 74 years, the youngest group of people likely to be affected by dementia.

Why are there dementia diagnostic discrepancies?

Lycia Neumann, PhD, senior director of Health Services Research at the Alzheimer’s Association of America, who was not involved in the study, told Medical News Today that “Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are often underdiagnosed, as data in the 2024 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report shows.”

“And, as this newly published paper demonstrates, there are important geographical differences in dementia diagnosis rates, which are aggravated by age and racial/ethnic disparities,” she said.

First author of the study, Julie PW Bynum, MD, a professor of geriatric and palliative medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, noted that, “(w)ith our data alone, we cannot say for sure what drives the differences.”

However, she continued, “