Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory are three times as likely to develop dementia than non-Indigenous people, and much earlier in life, according to new research published in the Medical Journal of Australia.
Researchers analysed data of 784 dementia cases diagnosed in the NT between 2008 and 2011, and found its estimated prevalence in the Indigenous population was 3.7 per 100, compared to 1.1 per 100 in the non-Indigenous population.
They also found the Indigenous median age for dementia was seven years below the non-Indigenous age.
Research Leader Dr Shu Qin Li wrote the results highlight the need for further studies to investigate the burden and social costs of dementia in the NT’s Indigenous population.
Read more at NT Department of Health, University of Queensland