Knowledge of Alzheimer's disease in four ethnic groups of older adults.

OBJECTIVES

The present study evaluated knowledge of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in four ethnic groups of older adults.

METHODS

Ninety-six Anglo, 37 Latino, 30 Asian, and 30 African American older adults completed a short survey about AD.

RESULTS

Results indicated that Anglo older adults are significantly more knowledgeable about AD than African American, Asian, and Latino older adults. Level of education partially accounted for differences in knowledge of AD between Latino to Anglo older adults. After controlling for age, number of years of speaking English was associated with knowledge of AD in Asian older adults.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest that certain ethnic minority groups do not have sufficient information about AD, and this may explain the lack of AD service use by minorities. Extensive evaluation of barriers to knowledge of AD is needed in order to specifically target minority groups and educate them about AD and the importance of early intervention.