Home › Research › Disparities
Genetics of Alzheimer's disease in Caribbean Hispanic and African American populations
Reitz C, Mayeux R.. Biological psychiatry, 2013-07-25
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD), which is characterized by progressive deterioration in cognition, function, and behavior, is the most common cause of dementia and the sixth leading cause of all deaths, placing a considerable burden on Western societies. Most studies aiming to identify genetic susceptibility factors for LOAD have focused on non-Hispanic white populations. This is, in part related to differences in linkage disequilibrium and allele frequencies between ethnic groups that could lead to confounding. However, in addition, non-Hispanic white populations are simply more widely studied. As a consequence, minorities are genetically underrepresented despite the fact that in several minority populations living in the same community as whites (including African American and Caribbean Hispanics), LOAD incidence is higher. This review summarizes the current knowledge on genetic risk factors associated with LOAD risk in Caribbean Hispanics and African Americans and provides suggestions for future research. We focus on Caribbean Hispanics and African Americans because they have a high LOAD incidence and a body of genetic studies on LOAD that is based on samples with genome-wide association studies data and reasonably large effect sizes to yield generalizable results.
Key findings
- This review summarizes the current knowledge on genetic risk factors associated with LOAD risk in Caribbean Hispanics and African Americans and provides suggestions for future research.
- We focus on Caribbean Hispanics and African Americans because they have a high LOAD incidence and a body of genetic studies on LOAD that is based on samples with genome-wide association studies data and reasonably large effect sizes to yield generalizable results.
Why it matters
This review summarizes what is known about genetic risk factors for late-onset Alzheimer's disease in Caribbean Hispanic and African American populations, groups that have been underrepresented in genetic studies. It does not report a treatment, cure, or prevention, and it calls for future research rather than presenting new findings.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Disparities →
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 42/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Biological psychiatry) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Biological Psychiatry: journal h-index 428 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2014 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 71 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 5.1 citations a year over 14 year(s) since 2014 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 7 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 13 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Richard P Mayeux: h-index 158 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Columbia University: institution h-index 1,824 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 23890735) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 42 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.06.003
- PubMed: 23890735
- Original source →
- Free full text: PubMed Central →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Reitz, C., & Mayeux, R. (2014). Genetics of Alzheimer's disease in Caribbean Hispanic and African American populations. Biological psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.06.003
Vancouver
Reitz C, Mayeux R. Genetics of Alzheimer's disease in Caribbean Hispanic and African American populations. Biological psychiatry. 2014. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.06.003. PMID: 23890735.
BibTeX
@article{reitz2014-23890735,
author = {Reitz, C. and Mayeux, R.},
title = {{Genetics of Alzheimer's disease in Caribbean Hispanic and African American populations}},
journal = {Biological psychiatry},
year = {2014},
doi = {10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.06.003},
pmid = {23890735},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.06.003}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here. Showing 12 of 33.
Later studies that cite this one
7 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references.
Related studies in Disparities
Also in Disparities
98 studies in the library are filed under Disparities with no topic tag they share with another; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed tour of them. The Disparities hub.