A cross-ethnic analysis of risk factors for AD in white Hispanics and white non-Hispanics

Background: The prevalence of AD appears to vary widely in different ethnic groups. Certain risk factors for AD are well established for the general p opulation, but there is little information regarding the relevance of these risk factors in specific ethnic groups. Objective: The authors examined th e risk of AD associated with the APOE-epsilon 4 allele, the APOE-epsilon 2 allele, smoking, alcohol consumption, history of hypertension, low educatio nal level, estrogen replacement therapy, and history of head trauma with lo ss of consciousness among samples of white non-Hispanics (WNH) (392 AD pati ents, 202 normal subjects) and white Hispanics (WHIS) (188 AD patients, 84 normal controls). Design: This was a case-control study of patients evaluat ed at an outpatient memory disorders clinic and control subjects recruited from a free memory screening offered to the community. Results: Increased r isk for AD was associated with the APOE-epsilon 4 allele after controlling for age, education, and gender among WNH (OR = 3.5; 95% CI = 2.3 to 5.5) an d WHIS (OR = 3.1; 95% CI = 1.7 to 5.8). No protective effect was conferred by the APOE-epsilon 2 allele, although this relationship approached signifi cance among WNH (p = 0.02). Low levels of education increased the risk for AD among WNH (OR = 3.1; 95% CI = 1.8 to 5.9) but not WHIS. Alcohol use and hypertension approached significance as risk factors in WNH (p < 0.05) but not WHIS. Estrogen replacement treatment approached significance as a prote ctive factor in both ethnic groups (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Although the AP OE-epsilon 4 allele is a risk factor for AD among WHIS and WNH, other risk factors such as low education and hypertension appear to be important only for WNH. Risk factors for AD reported or suggested previously that were not confirmed by this study include smoking and head trauma with loss of consc iousness.