Cancer Type and Dementia Diagnosis in Community Dwelling African Americans

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundCancer and dementia have been reported to have an inverse relationship, suggesting those with cancer may have decreased risk of subsequent dementia, and those with dementia may have a decreased risk of subsequent cancer diagnosis (Zablocka, 2021). However, emerging evidence challenges this idea. A paucity of research exists examining these associations in African Americans, who are twice as likely as whites to develop dementia (Barnes, 2022). Our objective was to examine the association between different types of cancer and dementia risk in community dwelling African Americans.MethodsUsing data from the 2011 National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), a nationally representative sample of Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older, we examined the association between cancer type and dementia diagnosis in community dwelling African Americans (n = 1529). Multinomial logistic regression models examined the association between cancer type and dementia diagnosis, controlling for age, sex, and education, as well as anxiety, depression, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.ResultsResults showed 2.6% of African Americans reported a kidney disease diagnosis, representing 208,107 older adults. Fully adjusted models revealed that African Americans with kidney cancer are over 5 times as likely to have a dementia diagnosis compared to African Americans without kidney cancer [OR: 5.48, p<0.05 (95% CI: 1.24, 24.20]). Other types of cancer (skin, breast, prostate, bladder, ovarian, colon, and “other”) were not significantly associated with increased odds of dementia diagnosis.ConclusionResults show a strong association between kidney cancer and dementia diagnosis in older African Americans, but not other types of cancer. Further research in this area may elucidate reasons for increased dementia risk in African Americans.