Survival after dementia diagnosis differs by race/ethnicity, with shortest survival among whites and longest among Asian Americans, according to a recent study. Dementia-free health care members aged ≥64 years were followed (January 1, 2000–December 31, 2013) for dementia diagnosis and subsequent survival (n=23,032 Asian American; n=18,778 African American; n=21,000 Latino; n=4,543 American Indian/Alaska Native; and n=206,490 white). Researchers found:

• After dementia diagnosis (n=59,494), whites had shortest median survival (3.1 years), followed by American Indian/Alaska Natives (3.4 years), African Americans (3.7 years), Latinos (4.1 years), and Asian Americans (4.4 years).
• Longer post-diagnosis survival among racial/ethnic minorities compared with whites persisted after adjustment for comorbidities.
• Racial/ethnic mortality inequalities among dementia patients mostly paralleled mortality inequalities among people without dementia.