Differences in Neuropsychiatric Features in Black and White Individuals Diagnosed with Frontotemporal Degeneration

BackgroundNeuropsychiatric symptoms are highly prevalent in frontotemporal degeneration (FTD). Prior research suggests there are disparities in the clinical presentation of dementia when comparing Black and White individuals but this has not been investigated in the context of FTD specifically. The aim of the present study is to investigate racial disparities in dementia severity, functional impairment and neuropsychiatric symptoms in individuals with a clinical diagnosis of FTD. MethodsUsing National Alzheimers Coordinating Center (NACC) data, we evaluated 63 Black and 2,356 White individuals living with a clinical diagnosis of FTD (behavioral variant FTD or primary progressive aphasia) and a healthy control group of 1899 Black and 9122 White individuals with normal behavior and cognition. We compared demographic characteristics, dementia severity, functional impairment and neuropsychiatric symptoms at initial NACC visit by examining differences on Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR), Functional Assessment Scale (FAS) and Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) using multivariable linear and logistic regression models, covarying for age at visit, disease duration, sex, and education. Models evaluating differences in neuropsychiatric symptoms additionally controlled for dementia severity. ResultsBlack individuals with FTD were considerably underrepresented, comprising only 2.5% of the clincial sample. In comparison to White individuals, Black individuals with FTD had a higher degree of dementia severity on CDR (CDR sum of boxes; p=0.03 CDR global, p=.006), greater functional impairment (FAS total; p=0.01) and more delusions (p=0.01), agitation (p=0.04) and depression (p=0.03) on the NPI. White individuals with FTD were more likely to demonstrate apathy (p=0.03). Within the normal control group, Black individuals reported less depression, anxiety, agitation, and nighttime behaviors (depression; p < 0.001; anxiety; p = 0.006; agitation; p = 0.048; nighttime behaviors; p < 0.001) compared to White normal controls. DiscussionThe present study suggests there are significant disparities in dementia severity, functional impairment and neuropsychiatric presentations at initial visit between Black and White individuals with FTD. Future work must address racial disparities in FTD and their underlying social determinants as well as the lack of representation of non-White individuals in nationally representative neurodegenerative disease registries in order identify appropriate interventions.