Do community-dwelling Maori and Pacific peoples present with dementia at a younger age and at a later stage compared with NZ Europeans?

ObjectiveEthnicity may affect presentation to clinical services in people with dementia; however, no studies have examined this in maori or Pacific peoples in New Zealand (NZ). Our objective was to examine the routinely collected clinical data from a memory assessment service in South Auckland to examine the presentation of dementia in the major NZ ethnic groups. MethodsA total of 360 patients presenting to a memory service with a new diagnosis of dementia were included in this study. Demographic data (age, sex, and ethnicity) and dementia sub-type and severity were analyzed. ResultsThere were 142 NZ European (mean age: 79.2, SD 7.4), 43 maori (mean age: 70.2, SD 7.6), 126 Pacific (mean age: 74.3, SD 7.6), and 49 other ethnicities (mean age: 78.0, SD 8.5) presenting with a new diagnosis of dementia. After adjustment for gender and dementia subtype, maori and Pacific patients were 8.5 and 5.3years younger than NZ European patients (P<0.0001). Pacific peoples tended to present with more advanced dementia (OR=1.63, 95% CI: 0.98-2.70, P=0.06) after adjustment for age and gender. There was little difference in the subtypes of dementia between ethnic groups. Conclusionsmaori and Pacific peoples with dementia presented to an NZ memory service at a younger age than NZ Europeans, and Pacific peoples presented with more advanced dementia. A population-based epidemiological study is critical to determine whether maori and Pacific peoples have indeed a higher risk of developing dementia at a younger age.