Every 68 seconds, someone in America becomes diagnosed with dementia, Dr. Shellie N. Williams, of the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, told physicians and medical professionals Wednesday during her lecture “Dementia and Advance Care Planning.” As part of the Hospice and Palliative Care Symposium at the Chicago Botanic Garden, Williams encouraged physicians to discuss advance care planning more often with their seriously ill patients to ensure that their end of life wishes are followed.

Dementia, a serious and life-threatening illness, currently affects more than five million Americans; nearly one-in-five American seniors will die of complications associated with the disease. By 2050, someone will be diagnosed with the chronic and progressive disease every 33 seconds. “Dementia is the fifth leading cause of death in the U.S. right now, and every time I put up a slide showing this people are surprised,” Williams said. “We think a little dementia is something that goes along with aging, but dementia is not a natural consequence of aging.”

Planning for dementia can be more difficult than planning around other life-threatening diseases, because dementia affects patients’ judgement and wishes over time. Crying, mood swings and hallucinations are common among individuals with moderate to severe symptoms. Often, Williams said, seniors wait too long to have such conversations until it is too late. Only 36-60 percent of individuals with dementia had completed some form of advance care plan in 2008.

Dementia is also more common among African-Americans and Hispanics than among other ethnic groups, Williams said. She cited an article published

by Alzheimer’s and Dementia in which researchers found 63 percent of Hispanics and 59 percent of African-Americans over age 85 were likely to develop the disease. These numbers are starkly different than the rate among whites- 30 percent. Almost 9 percent of African-Americans and 8 percent of Hispanics between 65 and 74 will develop some form of dementia, opposed to just 3 percent of whites. Williams pointed out that hypertension and diabetes are more prevalent within these populations, and they may contribute to the increase.

Research shows minorities are much more distrustful of the medical establishment than whites– partially due to their history of inadequate care and language barriers– and that skepticism often leads them to opt for more aggressive end of life treatments.