Testing times for dementia: a community survey identifying contemporary barriers to risk reduction and screening

Nikki-Anne Wilson; Ruth Peters; Nicola T Lautenschlager; Kaarin J Anstey

doi:10.1186/s13195-023-01219-4

Testing times for dementia: a community survey identifying contemporary barriers to risk reduction and screening

Alzheimers Res Ther. 2023 Apr 10;15(1):76. doi: 10.1186/s13195-023-01219-4.

Authors

Nikki-Anne Wilson^{1

2

3}, Ruth Peters^{4

5

6

7}, Nicola T Lautenschlager^{8

9}, Kaarin J Anstey^{4

5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration, Sydney, Australia. n.wilson@neura.edu.au.
² Neuroscience Research Australia, Margarete Ainsworth Building, 139 Barker Street, Randwick, Sydney, NSW, 2031, Australia. n.wilson@neura.edu.au.
³ School of Psychology, The University of New South Wales, Randwick, Sydney, Australia. n.wilson@neura.edu.au.
⁴ Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration, Sydney, Australia.
⁵ Neuroscience Research Australia, Margarete Ainsworth Building, 139 Barker Street, Randwick, Sydney, NSW, 2031, Australia.
⁶ School of Psychology, The University of New South Wales, Randwick, Sydney, Australia.
⁷ The George Institute for Global Health, Newtown, Sydney, Australia.
⁸ Academic Unit for Psychiatry of Old Age, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Melbourne, Australia.
⁹ North Western Mental Health, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, Melbourne, Australia.

Abstract

Background: Advances in pharmacological and non-pharmacological dementia interventions may mean future dementia prevention incorporates a combination of targeted screening and lifestyle modifications. Elucidating potential barriers which may prevent community engagement with dementia prevention initiatives is important to maximise the accessibility and feasibility of these initiatives across the lifespan.

Methods: Six hundred seven adults aged over 18 years completed a 54-item, multiple-choice survey exploring contemporary attitudes towards, and barriers to, dementia risk reduction and screening relative to other common health conditions. Participants were sourced from Australia's largest, paid, data analytics service (ORIMA).

Results: Finances (p = .009), poor motivation (p = .043), and time (p ≤ .0001) emerged as significant perceived barriers to dementia risk reduction behaviours. Lack of time was more likely to be reported by younger, relative to older, participants (p ≤ .0001), while females were more likely than males to report financial (p = .019) and motivational (p = .043) factors. Binary logistic regression revealed willingness to undertake dementia testing modalities was significantly influenced by gender (genetic testing, p = .012; saliva, p = .038, modifiable risk factors p = .003), age (cognitive testing, p ≤ .0001; blood, p = .010), and socio-economic group (retinal imaging, p = .042; modifiable risk-factor screening, p = .019). Over 65% of respondents felt adequately informed about risk reduction for at least one non-dementia health condition, compared to 30.5% for dementia.

Conclusions: This study found perceived barriers to dementia risk reduction behaviours, and the willingness to engage in various dementia testing modalities, was significantly associated with socio-demographic factors across the lifespan. These findings provide valuable insight regarding the accessibility and feasibility of potential methods for identifying those most at risk of developing dementia, as well as the need to better promote and support wide-scale engagement in dementia risk reduction behaviours across the lifespan.

Keywords: Barriers and enablers; Dementia; Dementia prevention; Dementia testing; Health Screening; Population health; Risk reduction.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Attitude*
Female
Humans
Life Style*
Male
Middle Aged
Risk Factors
Risk Reduction Behavior
Surveys and Questionnaires