Risk of Dementia Among White and African American Relatives of Patients With Alzheimer Disease

Abstract

Well-established risk factors for the development of Alzheimer disease (AD) in white populations include age, family history, female sex, and the presence of 1 or 2 copies of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ∊4 allele.^1,2 Family studies have shown that relatives of white AD patients are at greater risk than nonrelatives for the development of dementia, and that these risks are higher with increasing age, female sex, and the likelihood of carrying 1 or 2 copies of the APOE ∊4 allele.^3-6 The risks associated with AD in other US ethnicities and among populations in other countries have been less thoroughly studied, but there is evidence that the incidence of disease, as well as the risk attributable to specific genetic factors such as APOE genotype, may vary considerably among ethnic groups.^2,7-10