S. Holroyd et al., ATTITUDES OF OLDER ADULTS ON BEING TOLD THE DIAGNOSIS OF ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 44(4), 1996, pp. 400-403
OBJECTIVE: Controversy exists as to whether Alzheimer's disease (AD) p
atients should be told their diagnosis, yet no research has been done
examining older patients' attitudes on this topic. This study examines
patient's attitudes toward this topic. DESIGN: A prospective, communi
ty-based study. Participants read vignettes of two patients, one with
AD and one with terminal cancer, and then answered questions regarding
their attitudes toward these illnesses. SETTING: A community-based re
tirement community in Charlottesville, Virginia. PARTICIPANTS: One hun
dred fifty-six community-dwelling older persons (mean age 79.7 +/- 6.9
years). MEASUREMENTS: A structured questionnaire disclosed demographi
c data (age, sex, race, religion, marital status), personal experience
with cancer and AD, and opinions about being told the diagnosis of th
ese diseases. RESULTS: Most participants (n = 124, 79.5%) responded th
at they would prefer to know if they had AD, but the number was signif
icantly fewer (Fisher exact test, P < .001) than those who would want
to know if they had terminal cancer (n = 143, 91.7%) Interestingly, si
gnificantly fewer married subjects would want their spouse to know if
the spouse had either illness. Only 65.7% (n = 69) of subjects would w
ant their spouse to know if the spouse had AD (Fisher exact test, P =
.008), whereas for cancer, 80.2% (n = 77) would want their spouse to k
now if the spouse had cancer (Fisher exact test P < .001). No demograp
hic variables distinguished subjects who did from those who did not wa
nt to know the diagnosis for themselves or their spouses for either AD
or cancer. Among the reasons some subjects gave for wanting to know o
f the diagnosis of AD was being able to consider suicide. CONCLUSION:
Although these results may support disclosure of diagnosis for most pa
tients with AD, clinical and ethical issues remain in individual cases
.