TY - JOUR T1 - Risk perception and preference for prevention of Alzheimer's disease. JF - Value Health Y1 - 2009 A1 - Chung, Sukyung A1 - Kala M. Mehta A1 - Shumway, Martha A1 - Alvidrez, Jennifer A1 - Eliseo J Perez-Stable KW - Age Factors KW - Aged KW - Aged, 80 and over KW - Alzheimer disease KW - Cognition KW - Female KW - Health education KW - Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice KW - Health Surveys KW - Humans KW - Linear Models KW - Male KW - Multivariate Analysis KW - Psychometrics KW - Risk Assessment KW - Risk Factors KW - Social Perception KW - Statistics as Topic KW - United States AB -

OBJECTIVES: To understand how older adults perceive their risk of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and how this may shape their medical care decisions, we examined whether presence of established risk factors of AD is associated with individuals' perceived risk of AD, and with preference for preventing AD.

PARTICIPANTS: Data came from the US Health and Retirement Study participants who were asked questions on AD risk perception (N = 778).

MEASUREMENTS: Perceived risk of AD was measured by respondents' estimate of their percent chance (0-100) developing AD in the next 10 years. Preference for AD prevention was measured with questions eliciting willingness to pay for a drug to prevent AD.

ANALYSIS: Multivariate linear regressions were used to estimate correlates of perceived risk and preference for prevention.

RESULTS: Better cognitive functioning and physical activity are associated with decreased perceived risk. Neither age nor cardiovascular disease is associated with perceived risk. African Americans have lower perceived risk than non-Latino whites; the difference is wider among people age 65 and above. Only 4% to 7% of the variation in perceived risk was explained by the model. Preference for prevention is stronger with increased perceived risk, but not with the presence of risk factors. Persons with better cognitive functioning, physical functioning, or wealth status have a stronger preference for prevention.

CONCLUSION: Some known risk factors appear to inform, but only modestly, individuals' perceived risk of AD. Furthermore, decisions about AD prevention may not be determined by objective needs alone, suggesting a potential discrepancy between need and demand for AD preventive care.

PB - 12 VL - 12 IS - 4 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19900252?dopt=Abstract U3 - 19900252 U4 - Alzheimers Disease/risk factors/Subjective Probabilities/Physical Activity/Cognitive Functioning ER -