Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-m8qmq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-18T09:34:44.259Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Fear of Alzheimer's disease in the French population: impact of age and proximity to the disease

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 August 2011

Inge Cantegreil-Kallen  and
Stéphanie Pin
Inge Cantegreil-Kallen
Affiliation:
Clinical Gerontology Department, Broca Hospital, Paris, France
Stéphanie Pin*
Affiliation:
National Institute for Prevention and Health Education, St-Denis, France
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Stéphanie Pin, INPES – DP, 42, boulevard de la Libération, F - 93203 Saint-Denis, France. Phone + 33 1 49 33 22 15; Fax + 33 1 49 33 22 30. Email: stephanie.pin@inpes.sante.fr.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background: The negative image of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in our society has a substantial impact on treating, caring for and integrating those suffering from the disease and their relatives. Little research has been conducted on social perception of AD in the community.

Methods: The aim of this study was to investigate the perception, knowledge, opinions and beliefs about AD in the French population. A cross-sectional telephone survey of 2013 randomly selected community-dwelling people aged 18 years and over was conducted. Multivariate logistic regressions were used for identifying predictors of the personal fear of developing AD, both for the global sample and for different age groups.

Results: Sixty percent of the sample reported personal fear of developing AD. This attitude was strongly related to age, becoming predominant among the elderly. In the middle-aged group, personal fear of developing AD was highest in women with poor self-perceived health and, in particular, those who cared for someone with AD. Being a caregiver or knowing someone with the disease was also strongly associated with fear among younger adults aged 18–34.

Conclusions: These results serve as an incentive for developing special education and prevention programs focused on different age groups and caregivers of AD.

Keywords

Alzheimer's diseaseattitudepublicsurvey
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 24 , Issue 1 , January 2012 , pp. 108 - 116
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ankri, J. (2009). [Prevalence, incidence, and risk factors of Alzheimer's disease]. Gérontologie et Société, 128/129, 129–141 (in French).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bandura, I. (1982). Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency. American Psychologist, 37, 122–147.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bond, J., Stave, C., Scanga, A., Vincenzino, O., O'Connel, B. and Stanley, R. L. (2005). Inequalities in dementia care across Europe: key findings of the Facing Dementia Survey. International journal of Clinical Practice, 59, 8–14. doi:10.1111/j.1368-504X.2005.00480.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clarke, J. N. (2006). The case of the missing person: Alzheimer's disease in mass print magazines 1991–2001. Health Communication, 19, 269–276. doi: 10.1207/s15327027hc1903_9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Connell, C. M., Roberts, J. S. and McLaughlin, S. J. (2007). Public opinion about Alzheimer's disease among Blacks, Hispanics, and Whites: results from a national survey. Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders, 21, 232–240. doi: 10.1097/WAD.0b013e3181461740.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Corner, L. and Bond, J. (2004). Being at risk of dementia: fears and anxiety of older adults. Journal of Aging Studies, 18, 143–155. doi:10.1016/j.jaging.2004.01.007.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cutler, S. J. and Hodgson, L. G. (2001). Correlates of personal concern about developing Alzheimer's disease among middle-aged persons. American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias, 16, 335–343. doi: 10.1177/153331750101600604.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Denoux, P. and Macaluso, G. (2006). [Stress and ageing: a counter-cultural development in the point of control and adaptation strategies for elderly subjects]. Psychologie & Neuropsychiatrie du Vieillissement, 4, 287–297 (in French).Google Scholar
Derouesné, C., Rapin, J. R. and Lacomblez, L. (2004). [Memory-loss among subjects responding to age associated memory impairment criteria: psycho-affective and cognitive correlates]. Psychologie & Neuropsychiatrie du Vieillissement, 2, 67–74 (in French).Google Scholar
Gautier, A., Kubiac, C. and Collin, J. F. (2007). [Quality of life: a positive evaluation]. In Beck, F., Guilbert, P. and Gautier, A. (eds.), [Health Barometer 2005]. (pp. 45–64). Saint-Denis: Editions Inpes (in French).Google Scholar
Iliffe, S. et al. (2005). Understanding obstacles to the recognition of and response to dementia in different European countries: a modified focus group aproach using multinational, multi-disciplinary expert groups. Aging and Mental Health, 9, 1–6. doi: 10.1080/13607860412331323791.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Janz, N. K., Champion, V. L. and Strecher, V. J. (2002). The Health Belief Model. In Glanz, K., Rimer, B. K. and Lewis, F. M. (eds.), Health Behaviour and Health Education: Theory, Research and Practice (pp. 45–66) San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Laforce, R. and McLean, S. (2005). Knowledge and fear of developing Alzheimer's disease in a sample of healthy adults. Psychological Reports, 96, 204–206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pin-Le Corre, S., Benchiker, S., David, M., Deroche, C., Louassarn, S. and Scodellaro, C. (2009). [Social perception of Alzheimer's disease: the multiple facets of forgetting]. Gérontologie et Société, 128/129, 75–88 (in French).Google Scholar
Proctor, R., Martin, C. and Hewison, J. (2002). When a little knowledge is a dangerous thing: a study of carers’ knowledge about dementia, preferred coping style and psychological distress. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 17, 1133–1139. doi: 10.1002/gps.762.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rimmer, E., Wojciechowska, M., Stave, C., Sganga, A. and O'Connell, B. (2005). Implications of the Facing Dementia Survey for the general population, patients and care-givers across Europe. International Journal of Clinical Practice, 59, 17–24. doi: 10.1111/j.1368-504X.2005.00482.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roberts, J. S. and Connell, C. M. (2000). Illness representations among first-degree relatives of people with Alzheimer disease. Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders, 14, 129–136.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roberts, J. S., Connell, C. M., Cisewki, D., Hipps, Y. G., Demissie, S. and Green, R. C. (2003). Differences between African Americans and Whites in their perceptions of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's Disease and Associated Disorders, 17, 19–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Werner, P. (2002). Assessing correlates of concern about developing Alzheimer's dementia among adults with no family history of the disease. American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementia, 17, 331–337. doi:10.1177/153331750201700609.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Werner, P. (2003). Knowledge about symptoms of Alzheimer's disease: correlates and relationship to help-seeking behaviour. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 18, 1029–1036. doi: 10.1002/gps.1011.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Werner, P. (2005). Lay perceptions about mental health: where is age and where is Alzheimer's disease? International Psychogeriatrics, 17, 371–382. doi: 10.1017/S1041610205002255.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yeo, J. L. H., Horan, M. A., Jones, M. and Pendleton, N. (2007). Perceptions of risk and prevention of dementia in the healthy elderly. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders, 23, 368–371. doi: 10.1159/000101338.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed