Dementia in South Asian people: addressing inequalities & investigating mechanisms

South Asian people may be more prone to dementia than the White population but little research has been done investigating this

The number of people with dementia is increasing worldwide, particularly in low and middle income countries, including South Asia, where a quarter of the world’s population lives. Environmental risks, such as diabetes or high blood pressure increase the risk of dementia, and the gene called APOE ε4 is the main genetic risk. Although there has been considerable research about these risks in people of European origin, there has been very little in South Asian people, the largest non-White ethnic group in the UK, despite reason to think their risks differ.

This study, funded by the Alzheimer’s Society, uses large datasets from India and the UK to investigate differences in dementia risk, diagnosis and outcomes in South Asian people compared with other ethnic groups. This will answer important questions about dementia for the main UK minority ethnic group and, by extension, nearly a quarter of the world’s population, and will provide useful knowledge for the UK majority population.