SAN ANTONIO, July 27, 2026 – A form of dementia that strikes younger people is more common in Hispanics than previously thought, according to a new study led by researchers at UT Health San Antonio , the academic health center of The University of Texas at San Antonio .
A group of rare, progressive brain diseases called frontotemporal dementia (FTD) damages the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, the region behind the temples and above the ears. Unlike Alzheimer’s disease, it typically afflicts younger individuals – usually between ages 45 and 64 – and leads to severe early changes in personality, behavior and language, rather than memory loss.
While Hispanic populations generally experience higher dementia rates, they have remained underrepresented in frontotemporal dementia research. But the new study on FTD examined a South Texas Hispanic cohort and compared results with national data, finding that Hispanic participants presented with more movement-related symptoms and advanced cognitive impairment at diagnosis than non-Hispanic whites.
The diagnostic delays averaged four years from symptom onset. The researchers also concluded that educational disparities significantly contributed to healthcare access differences.
“The findings underscore diagnostic severity and systemic barriers faced by Hispanic populations with FTD, emphasizing the need for culturally sensitive diagnostic tools and interventions for equitable dementia care,” said A. Campbell Sullivan, PsyD, ABPP-CN , clinical associate professor of neurology with the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT Health San Antonio.
She says the study is long overdue to dispel longstanding assumptions that FTD doesn’t occur in Hispanics, but rather significant barriers have delayed timely and accurate diagnosis. Those assumptions themselves have contributed to under-recognition of FTD in those populations, she says.
Sullivan is senior author of the new study titled, “ Frontotemporal dementia in Hispanic populations: Regional and national comparisons ,” published July 23 by the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring . Other authors include first author Shannon B. Lavigne, PhD, LP , who was a fellow at UT Health San Antonio at the start of the study, and now is an assistant professor and clinical neuropsychologist at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, plus several researchers with the Biggs Institute.
The FTD Center at the Biggs Institute, directed by Sullivan and Alicia Parker, MD , an assistant professor, is working to change numbers showing that Hispanic FTD patients are not well-represented in national cohorts. South Texas is well-positioned in that effort, and for the study of neurodegenerative diseases.
Leading cause of dementia under 65
According to the new study’s background, frontotemporal dementia is a constellation of neurodegenerative disorders affecting personality/behavior, speech/language and movement. Onset typically occurs in midlife, and it is the leading cause of dementia for those under the age of 65.
The behavioral variant (bvFTD) accounts for nearly 50% of cases and is characterized by coarsening behavior, compromised judgment and executive dysfunction. Two language variants have been identified: Non-fluent/agrammatic primary progressive aphasia (nfvPPA) presents with belabored speech production and agrammatism or apraxia of speech; while semantic variant primary progressive aphasia (svPPA) is characterized by fluent, empty speech and notable loss of semantic relationships.
In addition to the core behavioral and language presentations, motor phenotypes such as progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and corticobasal degeneration (CBD) are increasingly recognized within the FTD spectrum, with overlapping clinical and pathological features. There is considerable heterogeneity within and between clinical FTD syndromes.
While there are active efforts to improve diversity inclusion internationally, Hispanic individuals with FTD remain under-represented in research, especially in the U.S.
In this new study, however, participants diagnosed with FTD were included from:
Clinical, neuroimaging and neuropsychological data were harmonized for cross-cohort comparisons. Expanding to include data from NACC allowed for more robust comparative analyses that assessed potential differences between the Texas-based population and the broader national FTD cohort.
Hispanics and movement-related symptoms
The results, through neurological examination, revealed that Hispanics were more likely to exhibit changes in movement-related symptoms, including dystonia, apraxia and postural instability. Non-Hispanic white individuals were more likely observed with behavioral changes, including loss of empathy. There were no significant differences in neuropsychological results.
Several recurring barriers to timely diagnosis were identified with the local STAC/ALLFTD Hispanic cohort. These included late presentation to specialty care, often after several years of progressive symptoms; initial misattribution of symptoms to psychiatric conditions; and under-recognition of neurodegenerative syndromes despite functional decline.
Patients frequently were referred to neurology only after significant impairments in communication, behavior or cognition had developed. These patterns underscore systemic challenges in identifying and diagnosing neurodegenerative disease, including limited access to appropriate specialists, potential biases in clinical interpretation and diagnosis, and cultural and linguistic factors influencing help-seeking behaviors.
The researchers concluded that the findings underscore the need for future studies involving larger, well-characterized cohorts to more accurately capture symptom presentation, disease subtype distribution and diagnostic timing across diverse ethnic groups.
Longitudinal follow-up, they say, will be critical to track disease progression, while biomarker validation will help determine whether observed differences reflect true phenotypic variation or are shaped by sociocultural and healthcare-related factors.
Frontotemporal dementia in Hispanic populations: Regional and national comparisons
S.B. Lavigne, G. Hromas, A. LaRoche, A.S. Parker, M.S. Abdullah, R.A. Fernandez, C. Weng, G. de Erausquin, A. Salardini, J. Tanner, T.F. Kautz, J. Castro, C. Mendoza, S. Seshadri, A.C. Sullivan
Published July 23, 2026, by Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring
Link to full study: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/dad2.70396
UT Health San Antonio is the academic health center of The University of Texas at San Antonio (UT San Antonio), offering a comprehensive network of inpatient and outpatient care facilities staffed by medical, dental, nursing and allied health professionals who provide more than 2.5 million patient visits each year. It is the region’s only academic health center and one of the nation’s leading health sciences institutions, supported by the schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions, graduate biomedical sciences and public health that are leading change and advancing health-related fields throughout South Texas and the world. To learn about the many ways “We make lives better®,” visit UTHealthSA.org .
The Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT Health San Antonio is dedicated to providing comprehensive dementia care while advancing treatment through clinical trials and research. The Biggs Institute is a National Institute on Aging (NIA)-designated Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC). UT Health San Antonio is the academic health center of The University of Texas at San Antonio (UT San Antonio). In addition to providing patient care and conducting research, the Biggs Institute partners with the School of Nursing at UT San Antonio to offer the Caring for the Caregiver program.
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Frontotemporal dementia in Hispanic populations: Regional and national comparisons
23-Jul-2026