Dementia literacy is low, researchers find

A study led by a PhD student in clinical psychology has found that few Americans know the risk factors for Alzheimer’s Disease or understand how to protect themselves from it.

Exercising, lowering stress levels, maintaining a healthy body weight, and socializing are known protective factors for Alzheimer’s that most of those surveyed did not recognize.

"For as much as there has been an increase in scientific understanding of the disease, there continues to be a need to broadly educate the public," says Colleen E. Jackson, a fourth-year PhD student who led the research.

In an online and paper survey of nearly 700 adults, the researchers found that American adults have limited knowledge and a poor understanding of factors that have been shown to increase the risk for Alzheimer’s, such as obesity, high blood pressure, and other heart health risk factors.

Jackson and her colleagues are presenting their findings this week at the 2009 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease in Vienna.

As more Baby Boomers reach the age when some cognitive decline may be noticed – the 60s and beyond – education about how to prevent it is critical, Jackson says.

While 94 percent of adults surveyed knew that Alzheimer’s Disease differs from normal aging, 66 percent did not know that high stress is a risk factor, and 64 percent did not associate the disease with obesity or high blood pressure.

Jackson says that "dementia literacy," or knowledge about the disease, can be increased by better communication with general practitioners, education at senior centers, and through informing adults as early as their late 20s of protective measures.

While there is no known cure for Alzheimer’s Disease, research has shown that the loss of memory and language associated with it can be delayed by lifestyle modifications that maintain brain and heart health.

Researchers on the "dementia literacy" project were: Colleen E. Jackson; Peter J. Snyder of Lifespan Hospital System and Brown University Medical School; Kathryn V. Papp, PhD student, clinical psychology; and Jennifer Bartkowiak, CLAS ’09.

To hear a podcast by Jackson about the study, click here: http://www.clas.uconn.edu/podcasts/jackson.mp3

For a videocast by Jackson, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p4HAc7fOzw

For more information, click here: htt://www.clas.uconn.edu/pdf/FINAL AD risk_PTSD release ICAD 2009.pdf