Abstract TP203: Predictors Of Alzheimer's Disease And Related Dementias Among Older Adults

Abstract

Introduction: Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) are a leading cause of disability and premature death in the U.S. The aim of this study was to identify demographic and clinical predictors (age, sex race/ ethnicity, marital status, education level, history of heart disease, myocardial infarction, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, anxiety and depression symptoms, subjective memory rating, clock drawing results) of ADRD in a cohort of adults over age 65. Methods: We obtained data for 2011 to 2020 from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS). NHATS contains a nationally representative sample of Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years and older. We included participants with complete data (N=6161). Results: Logistic regression analysis (see Table 1) suggested that the odds of having ADRD were 2.24 times higher in participants who had a stroke than in those who had not (p<0.001). The odds of having ADRD were 45% less among Black individuals than among White individuals (p=0.02). Participants ≥75 years old had higher odds of ADRD than those <70 years old (p<0.001). Participants who experienced anxiety symptoms “nearly every day” were more likely to have ADRD than those who did not experience anxiety symptoms (p=0.04). Those rating their memory as fair or poor were more likely to have ADRD (p<0.001). Those with clock drawing results that were reasonably accurate or accurate were less likely to have ADRD than those with clocks that were unrecognizable (p=.03). The area under receiver operator curve for the regression model was 0.887. Conclusions: Our study findings that participants with a history of stroke, anxiety symptoms, and a poor memory self-rating were at higher risk for ADRD and those with accurate clock drawing tests were at lower risk for ADRD are consistent with prior studies. However, our finding that Blacks were at lower risk for ADRD is inconsistent with prior studies which suggests that additional research is needed.