SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Dement.
Sec. Dementia Care
This article is part of the Research TopicDiversity, Intersectionality, and Inclusive Practices in Dementia Care and ResearchView all 7 articles
Dementia Risk among Individuals with a Migrant Background – A Scoping Review
Provisionally accepted
- 1Institute for Social Medicine, Occupational Health and Public Health (ISAP), Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
- 2Universitatsmedizin Greifswald Institut fur Community Medicine, Greifswald, Germany
- 3Deutsches Zentrum fur Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen Standort Rostock/Greifswald, Rostock, Germany
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Background. While non-pharmacological dementia prevention is increasingly prioritized in research and policy, intersectional perspectives remain underrepresented. These are essential to address structural determinants of health and persistent diversities and inequities. Aim of this Scoping review was to synthesize the existing amount of research on dementia risk and prevention in relation to migration background, focusing on three questions: (1) dementia risk and associated risk factors, (2) prevention and (3) evidence concerning most marginalized migrant populations. Methods. A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, PsycInfo and Web of Science according to PRISMA guidelines. The Population-Concept-Context (PCC) framework was used to define inclusion and exclusion criteria. Two researchers independently screened abstracts and full texts; discrepancies were resolved through discussion with a third reviewer. Included studies were synthesized and discussed. Results. Thirty-nine studies met inclusion criteria for (1), including some known risk factors and relevant to migration background factors such as language barriers, discrimination and mental health factors. Regarding prevention (2), only a few studies addressed migration-related aspects, including faith, internet-use or diagnosis. Evidence on asylum seekers, undocumented individuals or those with irregular status was absent (3). Conclusion. This review highlights significant knowledge gaps in dementia research concerning people with a migrant background. However, risk and preventive factors were summarized and partly combined regarding targeted, sensible prevention. Nevertheless, migration might modify dementia risk across multiple levels, yet preventive efforts remain sparse. Addressing these gaps is essential to design equitable strategies for dementia risk reduction and inclusive implementation in research and practice.
Keywords: Dementia, risk, prevention, migrant background, Migration, Refugees, review
Received: 16 Jul 2025; Accepted: 31 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wittmann, Luppa, Thyrian, Hoffmann and Riedel-Heller. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Felix G. Wittmann, felix.wittmann@medizin.uni-leipzig.de
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