![](https://thelimbic.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/28377789_1978255158881516_1537488125395205888_n.jpeg)
Dr Louise Lavrencic
Indigenous Australians have some of the highest rates of dementia in the world, and new research shows for the first time that this applies to those living in urban areas as well as regional and remote Australia.
Researchers from Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) and the University of New South Wales, Sydney, analysed dementia incidence rates in a prospective study of 155 urban-resident Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander people between 60-86 years of age (average age 66) .
During a follow up for an average of six years, 16 people developed dementia, representing an age-standardised rate of 36 per 1000 person-years. Over the same period a further 20 people developed mild cognitive impairment
Older age (OR 2.29), male sex (OR 4.14), unskilled work history (OR 5.09), polypharmacy (OR 3.11, 1.17-8.28), were positively associated with incident MCI/dementia, while and past smoking (OR 0.24) was negatively associated with dementia in the final model.
The researchers noted that a higher frequency of the APOE e4 gene variant was associated with a four-fold higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease, and the rate among participants was 24% compared to average global estimates of 14% among white populations.