Black people in Britain are more likely to develop dementia than those from other ethnic groups but are still much less likely to be diagnosed and receive support, a study has warned

The condition, a collective term for the loss of memory and thinking skills, was seen least in people from Asian backgrounds, the authors from University College London and King’s College London found. It is the first study to compare incidence of dementia and diagnosis across white, black, and Asian ethnic backgrounds, and between genders. “What we found suggests that the rates of people receiving a diagnosis may be lower than the actual rates of dementia in certain groups, particularly among black men,” one of the authors, Dr Tra My Pham, from UCL’s Institute of Epidemiology and Health, said. “It is concerning that black people appear to be more at risk of dementia but less likely to receive a timely diagnosis.” The authors say that they cannot fully explain the low rates of dementia in people from Asian background. Health inequalities like cardiovascular disease which contribute to dementia are common in Asian and black communities. Compared to white women, it found the incidence of dementia diagnosis was 18% lower among Asian women and 25% higher among black women. For men, incidence of dementia diagnosis was 28% higher among the black men, and 12% lower in Asian men, compared to white men, the study found.