Sealy Center on Aging.
Division of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston.
Gerontologist. 2019 Mar 14;59(2):281-289. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnx142.
To document racial/ethnic and nativity differences by gender in cognitive life expectancies among older adults in the United States.
Sullivan-based life tables were used to estimate cognitively normal, cognitively impaired/no dementia (CIND), and dementia life expectancies by gender for White, Black, U.S.-born Hispanic, and foreign-born Hispanic adults 50 years and older in the Health and Retirement Study.
Among women, the number of years spent living with dementia for Whites, Blacks, U.S.-born Hispanics, and foreign-born Hispanics was 1.6, 3.9, 4.7, and 6.0 years, respectively. For men, Whites lived 1.1 years with dementia compared to 3.1 years for Blacks, 3.0 years for U.S.-born Hispanics and 3.2 years for foreign-born Hispanics. Similar patterns were observed for race/ethnic and nativity differences in CIND life expectancies. Blacks and Hispanics spend a larger fraction of their remaining years with CIND and dementia relative to Whites, regardless of gender. Foreign-born Hispanic men and women and Black men are particularly disadvantaged in the proportion of years spent after age 50 with CIND and/or dementia.
Disparities in cognitive life expectancies indicate that intervention strategies should target the specific needs of minority and immigrant older adults with dementia. Given that education is a strong predictor of cognitive health, improving access to the social and economic resources that delay dementia onset is key to improving the well-being of diverse older adults.
本研究旨在记录美国老年人群中，认知预期寿命的性别、种族/民族和出生差异。
本研究采用沙利文生命表，根据性别，对健康与退休研究中 50 岁及以上的白人、黑人、美国出生的西班牙裔和外国出生的西班牙裔认知正常、认知障碍/无痴呆（CIND）和痴呆成年人的预期寿命进行了估计。
在女性中，白人、黑人、美国出生的西班牙裔和外国出生的西班牙裔患痴呆症的预期寿命分别为 1.6 年、3.9 年、4.7 年和 6.0 年。对于男性，白人患痴呆症的预期寿命为 1.1 年，而黑人患痴呆症的预期寿命为 3.1 年，美国出生的西班牙裔和外国出生的西班牙裔患痴呆症的预期寿命分别为 3.0 年和 3.2 年。在 CIND 预期寿命的种族/民族和出生差异方面也观察到了类似的模式。无论性别如何，黑人及西班牙裔患 CIND 和痴呆症的剩余预期寿命比例都大于白人。外国出生的西班牙裔男性和女性以及黑人男性在 50 岁后患 CIND 和/或痴呆症的比例特别不利。
认知预期寿命的差异表明，干预策略应针对有痴呆症的少数族裔和移民老年人群体的具体需求。鉴于教育是认知健康的重要预测因素，改善获得可延缓痴呆症发病的社会和经济资源的机会，是改善不同老年人群体健康的关键。
