Understanding the link between race, access to quality education, and dementia

In a study assessing the relationship between state-level educational quality during childhood and dementia risk in later life (n=20,788, 18.8% Black), Black individuals were more likely to attend school in states in the lowest educational quality tertile (76.2–86.1% of individuals vs 20.8–23.3% of White individuals).
Lower educational quality tertiles were associated with the highest risk for dementia. The highest quality tertile conferred a 12–21% risk reduction for dementia, with term length offering the greatest protection (hazard ratio 0.79).
The authors concluded that race differences in access to state education have significant effects on risk of dementia in later life. Investment in higher-quality education may reduce future dementia incidence.