RNSurveyInternational journal of mental health nursing2025

Factors Associated With Dementia Worry Among Middle-Aged or Older Adults Living in a Japanese Community: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Ayako Nakayama, Junko Hoshino, Rika Usami and 4 others

PMID 40490574

WHAT IT FOUND

Among middle-aged or older community adults without dementia, greater worry about developing dementia was linked to greater knowledge of dementia, more bothersome symptoms, moderate or severe depression, and a parent diagnosed with dementia.

Key findings

01Greater dementia knowledge was associated with higher worry about developing dementia.

02More bothersome symptoms in the last year, moderate or severe depression, and a parent diagnosed with dementia were also associated with higher worry.

03The average dementia-worry score was 22.7 on a 0 to 64 scale, and the most endorsed item was fear of becoming a burden to others.

STILL TO COME

How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs

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What it does not show

The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that any factor caused dementia worry. The main model reported adjusted R2 = 0.135, so the included factors did not account for all variation in worry. 198 participants with professional experience caring for people with dementia were excluded, so the findings may not apply to those with such experience. 631 questionnaires were collected and 299 were analysed. The questionnaire did not ask whether participants had attended Dementia Supporter training, so how participants gained dementia knowledge is unclear. Participants were community adults older than 40 years without a dementia diagnosis in Aichi and Gifu, Japan. All outcomes were self-reported questionnaires.

Declared interests

The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The supplied text does not state a funding source.

The easy way to misread this

Do not conclude that dementia education causes worry or that changing these factors will reduce worry. This was a cross-sectional survey of community adults without dementia, and it only reports associations at one time point.

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