Lay Knowledge About Dementia in Iceland: Symptoms and Risk and Protective Factors

No studies are available on the lay knowledge about dementia in Nordic countries. A survey was sent to 829 Icelanders aged 25 to 65 (61.2% female). 60.8% resided in the capital area of Reykjavik. About 90% or more recognized eight of eleven dementia symptoms, with females recognizing them proportion...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Gerontology and geriatric medicine 2022-01, Vol.8, p.23337214221142937-23337214221142937
Main Authors: Jónsdóttir, María K., Pálsdóttir, Elva Björk, Hannesdóttir, Stefanía Ýr, Karlsson, Thorlakur
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Dementia
Health literacy
Health promotion
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:No studies are available on the lay knowledge about dementia in Nordic countries. A survey was sent to 829 Icelanders aged 25 to 65 (61.2% female). 60.8% resided in the capital area of Reykjavik. About 90% or more recognized eight of eleven dementia symptoms, with females recognizing them proportionally more often than males. About 50% believed that an individual’s risk of developing dementia could be modified. For individual risk factors, agreement ranged from 4% (hearing loss) to 75.1% (history of brain injury). Knowledge about cardiovascular risk factors ranged from 24.8% (obese) to 43.6% (high blood pressure). Participants acknowledged the importance of a healthy diet and an active lifestyle, but only 8% identified a low education level as a risk factor. Public health campaigns and educational efforts about dementia should focus on the whole lifespan targeting all risk and protective factors operating throughout the lifespan.
ISSN:2333-7214
2333-7214
DOI:10.1177/23337214221142937