Dementia Care Research and Psychosocial Factors

Alzheimer's disease and related dementia (ADRD) is rapidly increasing among the Asian American population. Studies have shown that risk factors for ADRD are not uniform across the population, and vary significantly depending on factors including ethnicity, socio-environment, and individual clinical presentation. More research is needed to address the unique challenges faced by Asian Americans, including identifying specific risk factors within this diverse population. The purpose of this paper is to provide group-specific risk factors for ADRD among Korean American older adult groups.

A pilot cohort study of 54 Korean American adults ≥60 years old completed cognitive, socio-cultural, functional, and neurological assessments to make a diagnosis of normal control (NC), subjective cognitive complaints (SCC), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or dementia (DEM). Selected risk factors were compared between groups (NC-SCC vs. MCI-DEM) by either a t-test or a Chi-squared test.

As a part of the Asian Cohort for Alzheimer's Disease pilot study, 54 participants, 67% were females, the mean age of all the participants was 70.1 ( ± 7.2) years, ranging from 60 to 101, and 17% had completed elementary school education. Thirty-three (33) were diagnosed as NC-SCC while 21 were diagnosed with MCI-DEM. Compared with the NC-SCC group, the MCI-DEM group showed a significant decline in cognitive performance (p < .001) measured by the modified mini-mental status examination, common objective test, fluency test, and clock drawing test. The NC-SCC group had better functional activities of daily living (p < .001) compared to the MCI-DEM group. The MCI-DEM group was older (p = .003) and had higher depression levels than the NC-SCC group (p = .001). However, no significant difference was observed with other factors for ADRD including gender, education, length of stay in the U.S., English proficiency, hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol.

The study demonstrates that the MIC-DEM group experienced a significant cognitive decline compared to the NC-SCC group and that age and depression, are significantly elevated in the MCI-DEM group compared to the NC-SCC group. Future research should replicate and expand upon our findings to enhance understanding of group specific-risk factors and cognitive profiles in dementia staging to improve the early detection of ADRD.