Prevalence of Alzheimer's disease in South Carolina: An Exploration into the Growing Latino Population

In the United States the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders (ADRD) has been found to vary among different ethnoracial groups. Little research has been conducted to investigate these differences in the southeastern US which currently has the highest new settlement rates for Latinos. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of ADRD over a five year time period (2003-2007) in South Carolina (SC) focusing on Latinos in comparison to African Americans (AA) and Whites. ADRD cases were identified using the SC Alzheimer's Disease Registry. Registry data was combined with SC Census data for each year of interest and prevalence ratios were calculated by year. The hypothesis was that prevalence ratios would be higher in AA and Latinos than in Whites because those trends have been identified in the literature. The results showed that on average AA were 71% more likely and Latinos were 30% less likely to develop ADRD when compared to their White counterparts. Over the 5 year period, when compared to their White counterparts, AA had an increasing trend in prevalence (PR: 1.66-1.73) while Latinos had a downward trend in prevalence (PR: 0.81-0.59). These results show that Latinos in SC have a lower prevalence of ADRD than both AA and Whites and the prevalence is decreasing over time. The study results indicate Latinos may not be captured in the registry due to a lack of access to care or that they may be returning to their native country for medical treatment.