Adolescents’ knowledge regarding Alzheimer’s disease is declining
An international study
Bibliographic Data
To improve school-based mental health literacy programs, we assessed adolescents’ familiarity with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We investigated the frequency of their contact with AD and their knowledge of the disorder. This comparative international randomized prospective study involved high school-based samples from eight countries (sample type: simple random; sampling unit: school/class). The questionnaire checked the contacts with persons with AD and had 10 statements to be labeled as true or false. The study was carried out among randomly selected 14,000 students from 2019 to 2023; 3,608 students indicated a lack of knowledge about AD (total n = 17,608). About 52% of the participants (n = 7,287) contacted persons with AD. With a maximum score of 10, the average score was 6.2 ± 0.9. The scores varied from 5.2 (Kazakhstan) to 7.0 (Australia). If the whole cohort of 17,608 students is analyzed, the average score was 5.1 ± 1.2 and varied from 3.6 for Kazakhstan to 6.1 for Australia. These scores declined from 2019–20 to 2023–24 school years. Although high school students had some knowledge about AD, existing educational programs may be amended to improve knowledge about the disorder, which may include information about the epidemiology, the possibility for early onset, and the female sex as a risk factor
Alzheimer's disease · Disease · Childhood Cancer Survivors' Quality of Life · Family Support in Illness · Health, psychology, and well-being · Medicine · Psychology · Gerontology
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |