Cullum S, Varghese C, Coomarasamy C, et al. - Researchers investigated the factors that are predictive of mortality in dementia in consecutive referrals to a New Zealand (NZ) memory service that includes Māori, Pacific Islander, and NZ European patients. Using electronic health records, they assessed data regarding date of birth, gender, ethnicity, living situation, cognitive function, dementia subtype, dementia severity, physical comorbidity, and medication. The analysis revealed an increase in the risk of death in people with dementia by age and lower cognitive score at baseline, and a reduction in the risk by cholinesterase inhibitors. Māori and Pacific Islanders exhibited reduced mortality risk. Compared with NZ Europeans, a 3-fold raised risk of death was observed with antipsychotics in Pacific Islanders. In Māori, they noted a similar effect, but this did not attain statistical significance. In line with previous research in the USA and UK, this work supports European ethnicity as an independent risk factor for increased mortality in dementia.