Angermeyer M C, Ehmann M, Matschinger H, Riedel-Heller S G
Klinik und Poliklinik für Psychiatrie Universitätsklinikum Leipzig Johannisallee 20 04317 Leipzig.
Psychiatr Prax. 2001 Mar;28(2):91-3. doi: 10.1055/s-2001-11585.
The early recognition of dementia assumes increasing importance. Lay beliefs on the causes of loss of memory play a major part in this regard as they have shown to determine help-seeking behaviour.
720 persons aged 75 or older were questioned on their beliefs on the causes of cognitive deficits in the context of the Leipzig Longitudinal Study of the Aged (LEILA 75+).
Almost one-third of the respondents mentioned exclusively biological causes, vascular lesions coming first. One quarter of those questioned ascribed memory deficits to non-biological factors. Every tenth person suspected that they result from a combination of both. One quarter of the elderly did not know any answer.
The results are contrasted with outcomes of epidemiological dementia research. It is argued that increasing and better quality information of the public are urgently required.
早期识别痴呆症变得越来越重要。在这方面，公众对于记忆丧失原因的看法起着重要作用，因为这些看法已被证明会影响求助行为。
在莱比锡老年纵向研究（LEILA 75+）的背景下，对720名75岁及以上的人进行了关于认知缺陷原因的看法调查。
近三分之一的受访者仅提及生物学原因，其中血管病变居首。四分之一的受访者将记忆缺陷归因于非生物学因素。十分之一的人怀疑是两者共同作用的结果。四分之一的老年人不知道任何答案。
将结果与流行病学痴呆症研究的结果进行了对比。有人认为，迫切需要向公众提供越来越多且质量更高的信息。
