Characterization of Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia among Community-Dwelling Mexican Americans and Non-Hispanic Whites.

Background: Despite tremendous advancements in the field, our understanding of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) among Mexican Americans remains limited.

Objective: The aim of this study was to characterize MCI and dementia among Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic whites.

Methods: Baseline data were analyzed from n = 1,705 (n = 890 Mexican American; n = 815 non-Hispanic white) participants enrolled in the Health and Aging Brain Study-Health Disparities (HABS-HD).

Results: Among Mexican Americans, age (OR = 1.07), depression (OR = 1.09), and MRI-based neurodegeneration (OR = 0.01) were associated with dementia, but none of these factors were associated with MCI. Among non-Hispanic whites, male gender (OR = 0.33), neighborhood deprivation (OR = 1.34), depression (OR = 1.09), and MRI-based neurodegeneration (OR = 0.03) were associated with MCI, while depression (OR = 1.09) and APOEɛ4 genotype (OR = 4.38) were associated with dementia.

Conclusion: Findings from this study revealed that the demographic, clinical, sociocultural and biomarker characteristics of MCI and dementia are different among Mexican Americans as compared to non-Hispanic whites.