Dementia Starts Earlier Than You Think. Here’s Why Black America Must Protect Brain Health Now

Contrary to popular belief, dementia is not a normal part of aging. It’s simply more prevalent among older adults. The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that more than 7 million Americans have Alzheimer’s, which is the most common type of dementia. Older Black Americans are twice as likely as white Americans to develop dementia, and are usually diagnosed after the condition progresses. Yet, only 35 percent are concerned about dementia, and that’s a troubling reality.

What exactly is dementia? Why does it affect Black communities more? What steps can you take now? To get answers, The Root talked with Edna Andrews Rose, Ph.D., Minority Outreach Specialist with the University of Michigan’s Alzheimer’s Disease Center.

Types & Symptoms

Rose explained that dementia is a broad term for hundreds of conditions causing mental decline and disrupting daily life. Alzheimer’s is just one type. “It’s like Campbell’s soup,” she said. “Whether it’s mushroom, chicken and rice, or tomato, it’s still Campbell’s soup.”

Michigan Medicine notes Alzheimer’s comprises 60 to 80 percent of dementia cases and impairs memory, thinking and behavior. Lewy body dementia can cause hallucinations, movement issues and sleep problems. Vascular dementia —the most common for Black Americans — follows strokes or untreated high blood pressure and often first appears as mood or behavior changes.

Frontotemporal dementia can start as early as age 45, showing up initially as personality or language changes, not memory loss. Early-onset Alzheimer’s can begin as early as age 40, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Symptoms can mirror other forms of the disease.

Across all types, early signs include increased forgetfulness, repeating stories, difficulty with routines and poor judgment. “It’s not so much forgetting where the keys are,” Rose said. “But when you find the keys, do you know what to do with them?”

Increased Risk Factors

Rose said stress and poverty are the top risk factors for Black Americans. Both are connected to chronic conditions that harm the brain, like vascular dementia, which is linked to high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, and other preventable conditions disproportionately affecting Black communities.

Obstructive sleep apnea is another risk factor. According to Rose, it is often overlooked entirely. “Oftentimes, people do a sleep study, and the doctors don’t tell people that the lack of sleep and poor sleep diminishes the amount of oxygen to the brain during those periods,” she said.

Even with this elevated risk, the NIH reports that Black Americans are 35 percent less likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s — a gap tied to being markedly underrepresented in clinical trials and to mistrust of the medical system, rooted in historical abuses like the Tuskegee Experiment.

Treatment

If you or a loved one is worried about memory changes, see your primary care doctor and ask for a neurologist referral if symptoms persist. Rose warned that waitlists can be long, especially for people with Medicare and Medicaid, so don’t delay.

There is no cure yet, but treatments are improving. Michigan Medicine says some intravenous drugs, like Leqembi and Kisunla, can slow the disease’s progress by about 30 percent for people with early-stage Alzheimer’s. Standard oral medications can also slow symptoms.

Take Action Now

It’s never too soon to take care of your health. Conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes can start long before you notice any symptoms, so regular checkups are important, even if you’re young and feel fine.

Rose also encourages people to look into long-term care insurance, which can help you pay for future care, whether it’s inside or outside of your home. According to AARP, purchasing between the ages of 60 and 65 may provide the best return on investment.

Staying active, eating healthy foods, and spending time with others all help keep your brain healthy. “To protect your brain, you’ve got to protect your body,” Rose told The Root.