Abstract 002: Self-reported Experiences Of Discrimination In Relation To Incident Dementia: The Multi-ethnic Study Of Atherosclerosis (mesa)

Introduction: Black and Hispanic Americans have higher rates for dementia than other racial/ethnic groups. Perceived discrimination has many adverse health effects and may contribute to racial disparities in dementia risk. Our objective was to assess the association between lifetime experiences of discrimination and incident dementia. Methods: We included data for 6509 participants, 45-84 years of age at baseline (2000-2002) enrolled in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). We assessed lifetime experiences of discrimination at baseline in six domains related to: hiring; promotion; police; education; housing; and from neighbors. Incidence of dementia was determined from International Classification of Diseases codes and medication inventory. We used Cox proportional hazards to estimate hazard ratios (HR) for incident dementia over 17 years after accounting for cohort attrition and sociodemographic, clinical, and behavioral factors. We assessed effect modification of the association by race/ethnicity. Results: Of the sample, 42% reported experiencing discrimination in their lifetime. We observed 466 incident cases of dementia and lifetime discrimination was associated with incident dementia (Wald χ 2 p=0.03). Individuals reporting lifetime discrimination in ≥2 domains (compared to none) had greater risk for dementia (HR: 1.40; 95%: 1.08, 1.82) after adjustment for sociodemographic, clinical, and behavioral risk factors ( Table ). Associations did not differ by race/ethnicity (p-interaction >0.1). Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate an association between discrimination and incident dementia and provide justification to advance research on the association of discrimination with race-disparities in dementia risk.