Camacho-Mercado Clara L, Figueroa Raúl, Acosta Heriberto, Arnold Steven E, Vega Irving E
Department of Biology, Rio Piedras Campus, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Demographics Assistance Group, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
SAGE Open Med. 2016 Jan 29;4:2050312115627826. doi: 10.1177/2050312115627826. eCollection 2016.
The Latino/Hispanic community in the United States is at higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease than other ethnic groups. Specifically, Caribbean Hispanics showed a more severe Alzheimer's disease symptomatology than any other ethnic group. In a previous study, we demonstrated that the mortality rate associated with Alzheimer's disease in Puerto Rico is higher than that reported in the United States. Moreover, the mortality rate associated with Alzheimer's disease was higher among Puerto Rican living in Puerto Rico than those in the mainland United States. There is also a differential geographical distribution of mortality rate associated with Alzheimer's disease in Puerto Rico, which may be associated with differential socioeconomic status and/or access to healthcare. However, there is no information regarding the clinical profile of Alzheimer's disease patients in Puerto Rico.
Here, we present the results of a retrospective study directed to profile Alzheimer's disease patients clustered into two groups based on areas previously determined with low (Metro Region) and high (Northwest-Central Region) mortality rate associated with Alzheimer's disease in Puerto Rico.
Significant difference in the age-at-diagnosis and years of education was found among patients within the two studied regions. Despite these differences, both regions showed comparable levels of initial and last Mini Mental State Examination scores and rate of cognitive decline. Significant difference was also observed in the occurance of co-morbidities associated with Alzheimer's disease.
The differential profile of Alzheimer's disease patients correlated with differences in socioeconomic status between these two regions, suggesting that covariant associated with social status may contribute to increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Further studies should be conducted to determine the role of socioeconomic factors and healthy living practices as risk factors for Alzheimer's disease.
美国的拉丁裔/西班牙裔社区患阿尔茨海默病的风险高于其他种族群体。具体而言，加勒比西班牙裔表现出比其他任何种族群体都更严重的阿尔茨海默病症状。在之前的一项研究中，我们证明波多黎各与阿尔茨海默病相关的死亡率高于美国报告的死亡率。此外，居住在波多黎各的波多黎各人中与阿尔茨海默病相关的死亡率高于美国大陆的波多黎各人。在波多黎各，与阿尔茨海默病相关的死亡率也存在不同的地理分布，这可能与不同的社会经济地位和/或获得医疗保健的机会有关。然而，关于波多黎各阿尔茨海默病患者的临床特征尚无相关信息。
在此，我们展示了一项回顾性研究的结果，该研究旨在描述根据波多黎各先前确定的与阿尔茨海默病相关的低死亡率地区（大都会地区）和高死亡率地区（西北-中部地区）分为两组的阿尔茨海默病患者的情况。
在两个研究区域的患者中，诊断年龄和受教育年限存在显著差异。尽管存在这些差异，但两个区域在初始和末次简易精神状态检查得分以及认知衰退率方面显示出相当的水平。在与阿尔茨海默病相关的合并症发生率方面也观察到了显著差异。
阿尔茨海默病患者的不同特征与这两个地区社会经济地位的差异相关，这表明与社会地位相关的协变量可能会增加患阿尔茨海默病的风险。应进一步开展研究以确定社会经济因素和健康生活方式作为阿尔茨海默病风险因素的作用。
