Promoting brain health equity and uniting Latino-serving organizations and leaders to stop Alzheimer’s.

Addressing the Disparate Impact of Alzheimer’s on Communities of Color and Women

UsAgainstAlzheimer's Center for Brain Health Equity

About Us

LatinosAgainstAlzheimer’s marshalls resources and action to address the growing impact of Alzheimer’s and dementia on our nation’s 55 million Latino families. Through a network of cross-sector stakeholders, LatinosAgainstAlzheimer’s spearheads strategic convening and coalition building, legislative advocacy, and culturally tailored education and brain health promotion efforts across the country.

 

Latinos and Alzheimer’s Disease

The U.S. Census Bureau projects that the Latino population will double from approximately 49 million in 2009 to 106 million people by the year 2050. In fact, by 2044, more than half of all Americans are projected to belong to a minority group. The growth of the Latino community will have tremendous implications for our nation’s health, education, and workforce sectors. It is essential that our nation’s policymakers and community leaders better understand these consequences to adequately address the public health needs of an increasingly multicultural society.

Shifting Demographics

According to the Administration on Aging, between 2008 and 2030 the Latino population aged 65 years and older will increase by 224% compared to a 65% increase for the non-Latino white population in the same age category. There are approximately four million Latinos over the age of 65 living in the United States today, twice as many as in 2000. The flip side of this increased longevity includes an increased risk for Alzheimer’s. The chances of developing the disease double approximately every five years after age 65, and after age 85 the risk reaches nearly 50%.

Latino families are highly under-resourced in terms of income, retirement benefits, and pension benefits. As the Latino population ages, a growing number of Latino communities, families, and systems of care will be confronted by increasing rates of Alzheimer’s with the fewest resources to manage it.

Risk Factors

Latinos are 1.5 times more likely than non-Latino whites to develop Alzheimer’s disease, in part, owing to increased risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and stroke—all additional risk factors for Alzheimer’s and other dementias. Furthermore, research has found that symptoms of Alzheimer’s appear almost seven years earlier in Latinos than in non-Latino whites.

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According to the Centers for Disease Control, Alzheimer’s death rates among Latinos increased 107% between 1999 and 2014.

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A report from the USC Roybal Institute on Aging and UsAgainstAlzheimer’s projects a striking increase in the number of Latinos living with Alzheimer’s through 2060. The number of Latinos living with Alzheimer’s or a related dementia is expected to increase more than ninefold from 379,000 in 2012 to 1.1 million by 2030 and to 3.5 million by 2060—a growth of 832%.

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The Economic Impact on Families

While the toll of Alzheimer’s on Latino families is incalculable, the economic impact is estimated to reach the trillions by 2060.

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Latinos in Alzheimer’s Research

Latino volunteers are needed to help researchers understand and develop treatments for Alzheimer’s and related dementias that work for all communities. While Latinos make up roughly 17% of the U.S. population, they make up less than 1% of participants in National Institutes of Health clinical trials. Moreover, Latinos make up just 7.5% of research participants across the approximately 30 Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers (ADRCs) funded by NIH.

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Strategy

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Signature Initiatives

UsAgainstAlzheimer's created the LatinosAgainstAlzheimer’s Coalition as the first-ever coalition of community-based organizations coordinating Alzheimer’s awareness and brain health promotion efforts in the Latino community. UsAgainstAlzheimer’s provides member organizations capacity, expertise, and opportunities to leverage their unique assets in the race to develop Alzheimer’s solutions that work for all Americans.


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UsAgainstAlzheimer’s established the Alzheimer's and Dementia Disparities Engagement Network (ADDEN) to build a national network of diverse researchers, patients, caregivers, and stakeholder groups for collaboration and knowledge sharing around barriers, facilitators, and priorities in Alzheimer’s research, programming, and policy. The platform aims to foster effective and inclusive community engagement and collaboration strategies and is partially funded through a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Eugene Washington Engagement Award (4192-USAA). Visit the ADDEN webpage here.

Latino Leadership Initiative on Alzheimer’s

We have developed a network of experts from diverse fields to inform and disseminate the work of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s and to provide strategic guidance on Latino community engagement.

Expert Background
Maria P. Aranda, PhD USC School of Social Work,
University of Southern California
Lisette Carbajal Caregiver Advocate
Daisy Duarte Latino Network Patient and Caregiver Advocate
Ambassador Carmen Lomellin Lomellin Global Partners, LLC
Katya Rascovsky, PhD Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
G. Adriana Perez, PhD, ANP-BC, FAAN University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing
Ilia Rodriguez The Daschle Group
Arturo Vargas The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO)
William Vega, PhD USC Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging, University of Southern California
Yvonne Latty New York University’s Carter Journalism Institute
Josefina Meléndez-Cabrero, PhD Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic & Research Center, PBC
Irving E. Vega, PhD College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University
CiCi Rojas Tico Productions LLC

Help us build a more inclusive Alzheimer’s movement.

Our Strategy

  • Thought Leadership

  • Community Mobilization

  • Strategic Advocacy

Latest Updates

Read the latest news, blog, and press updates below. Want to see LatinosAgainstAlzheimer's in the news? Read now.

Our Coalition Members & Collaborators 

The LatinosAgainstAlzheimer's Coalition and collaborators include national and local health, advocacy, and direct service organizations. We work together to advance brain health equity in Latino communities. 

New Report

Latinos and Alzheimer’s: New Numbers Behind the Crisis

Read this first-of-its kind report on the economic impact of Alzheimer’s on Latino families and the American economy (developed with the USC Roybal Institute on Aging).

"Latinos & Alzheimer’s: New Numbers Behind the Crisis . . . provides critical insights into this growing crisis and better equips policymakers to develop the solutions that millions of families are desperately waiting for."

Congresswoman Linda T. Sánchez

  • 1%

    of NIH-funded clinical trial participants are Latino, even though Latinos make up 17% of the U.S. population.

  • 1.5 times

    A Latino is 1.5 times more likely to get Alzheimer's than a non-Latino white.

  • 3.5 million

    Latinos are projected to be living with Alzheimer's by 2060.

We are elevating the voices of Latino patients and caregivers engaged in advocacy and research.

We support the storytelling and advocacy efforts of caregivers and individuals living with dementia in the Latino community by connecting advocates, patients, and caregivers to journalists, filmmakers, and authors. Raising their voices is critical to developing inclusive programming and policy solutions that work for all communities.

LatinosAgainstAlzheimer’s works to support the storytelling and advocacy efforts of caregivers and individuals living with dementia in the Latino community to develop inclusive policy and programming solutions to address disparities in brain health.

We help to tell the stories of Latinos on the frontlines of the Alzheimer’s crisis.

Network Resources

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    #HispanicHeritageMonth2020 Reading List

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    Priorities for Optimizing Brain Health Interventions Across the Life Course in Socially Disadvantaged Groups

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    Latino Caregiver Preferences Pilot Study

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    LatinosAgainstAlzheimer's Issue Brief

    This issue brief is an educational resource that frames the impact of Alzheimer's on the Latino community and outlines why action is imperative.

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    Attitudes, Level of Stigma, and Level of Knowledge about Alzheimer’s Disease among Hispanic Elderly Adults and Caregivers, and Alzheimer’s-Related Challenges for Caregivers.

    This executive summary from LatinosAgainstAlzheimer’s coalition member the National Hispanic Council on Aging (NHCOA) provides an overview of the stigma and attitudes that Latinos have toward Alzheimer’s.

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    La crisis del Alzheimer entre los latinos: Un resumen

    A fact sheet that outlines the impact of Alzheimer's on the Latino Community - Spanish Language Version

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    Let's Talk about Caring for a Person with Alzheimer's Disease / Hablemos del Cuidado de una persona con Alzheimer's

    A bilingual Alzheimer’s resource guide for caregivers from our friends at the National Alliance for Hispanic Health.

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    Let's Talk About Alzheimer's Disease / Hablemos de la enfermedad de Alzheimer's

    A bilingual Alzheimer’s resource guide for families from our friends at the National Alliance for Hispanic Health.

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    Latinos & Alzheimer’s Disease: New Numbers behind the Crisis

    This project marks an important collaboration among the USC Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging, the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, and UsAgainstAlzheimer’s to increase our understanding of...

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    Latinos & Alzheimer’s Disease: New Numbers behind the Crisis

    Projection of the costs for U.S. Latinos living with Alzheimer’s Disease through 2060

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    National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease

    Looking for information about Alzheimer’s disease? Helpful links: Alzheimer's Disease Basics Video, Inside the Brain, Unraveling the Mystery of Alzheimer's Symptoms Diagnosis.

"Latinos & Alzheimer’s: New Numbers Behind the Crisis provides critical information on the economic impact of Alzheimer’s on Latinos. While the emotional toll Alzheimer’s has on families is incalculable, the financial impact is staggering and now well documented through this first-of-its-kind report."

Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard

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Tweets by LatinosAgainstAlzheimers

Financial Hardships

It is estimated that Alzheimer's will cost Latino families a total of $2.3 trillion by 2060.