A report from the National Vital Statistics System examined death certificates in the United States for the year 2017. It focused on deaths where dementia was listed as a cause, adjusting the numbers to account for differences in the age of various population groups. The goal was to see if death rates from dementia differed by race and Hispanic origin.
The data showed that in 2017, the age-adjusted death rate for dementia was 70.8 per 100,000 people for non-Hispanic white persons. For non-Hispanic black persons, the rate was 65.0 per 100,000, and for Hispanic persons, it was 46.0 per 100,000. This means the reported rate was highest for white individuals that year.
It is very important to understand what this report does and does not tell us. It is based on observational data from death certificates for a single year, 2017. This kind of data can show a pattern or link, but it cannot prove that race or ethnicity caused the difference in death rates. Many other factors, like access to healthcare, how dementia is diagnosed and reported, and other health conditions, could play a role. This report is a single snapshot that helps researchers ask questions, but it is not a complete explanation of a complex issue.