Dementia severity at incident diagnosis in a population representative sample of older Americans.

For the US population 70 and older, 30% were diagnosed with dementia at a moderate or severe stage.Fewer were diagnosed at early stages in years 2000 to 2008 compared to 2009 to 2016 (65% vs 76%).A total of 72% of white persons were diagnosed at early stages, compared to 63% black and 59% Hispanic persons.More males than females were diagnosed at early stages (75% vs 67%).High wealth and education level were associated with diagnosis at early stages disease.