Cross-sectional survey of attitudes and beliefs towards dementia risk reduction among Australian older adults

Abstract

Background Little is known about what drives older adults’ motivation to change their behaviour and whether that is associated with their personal dementia risk profile. Our aims were to (i) understand what sociodemographic factors are associated with older Australians’ motivation to change behaviour to reduce their dementia risk, and (ii) explore the relationship between socio-demographic factors and motivation to reduce dementia risk with health- and lifestyle-based dementia risk scores in older adults. Methods A cross-sectional online postal or telephone survey was administered to community-dwelling older adults in New South Wales, Australia between January and March 2021. Measures included socioeconomic status, locality, and health status, the Motivation to Change Lifestyle and Health Behaviours for Dementia Risk Reduction (MCLHB-DRR) scale and the lifestyle-based dementia risk score (LIBRA index). Multiple linear regression analyses were used to explore the associations for (i) sociodemographic factors and motivation to reduce dementia risk (MCLHB-DRR scales) and (ii) sociodemographic factors and motivation to reduce dementia risk with health- and lifestyle-based dementia risk (LIBRA index). Results A total of 857 older adults (mean age 73.3 years, SD = 6.0, range 65–94; 70% women; 34.6% less than grade 6 education) completed the survey. Respondents reported high levels of motivation to adopt behaviour changes, agreeing on the importance of good health. Individuals who were younger were more likely to have greater motivation to modify lifestyle to reduce dementia risk and had higher perceived benefits to gain by adopting a healthy lifestyle. Dementia risk scores were moderately low (mean LIBRA index =− 2.8 [SD = 2.0], range − 5.9–3.8), indicating relatively moderate-to-good brain health. Men with low socioeconomic status and higher perceived barriers to lifestyle change had higher dementia risk scores. Conclusions Public health campaigns need to overcome motivational barriers to support reductions in dementia risk. A multifaceted and inclusive approach targeting both sociodemographic differences and impediments to brain healthy lifestyles is required to achieve genuine change. Trial registration ACTRN12621000165886, Date of registration: 17/02/2021.

Perspectives on Aging and Quality of Life

“…On the other hand, there are reports that vitamin D supplementation alone does not improve sarcopenia in community-dwelling older adults [73], so further results on nutritional supplementation are needed. Regarding lifestyle modification, there are reports that younger older adults are more motivated to make lifestyle changes to reduce their risk of dementia [74] and that healthy lifestyle modification programs, with particular emphasis on dietary changes, can help prevent CVD events, including myocardial infarction and stroke, in older adults living in the community [75].…”

Acceptability of virtual reality to screen for dementia in older adults

“… Demographics : Following previous national survey studies [ 23 – 25 ], nine questions regarding participants’ age, gender, country of birth, marital and employment status, and postcode. Educational attainment was split into low (minimal or no formal education), middle (intermediate levels of education such as secondary education or vocational training) and high attainment (completed tertiary education).…”

“…Demographics, health status and current technology use questions in this study were adopted from previous national survey studies conducted with older Australians [23][24][25]. The latter questions on appraisal and acceptance of VR technology were further adapted from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) [17] to assess participants' perceptions of technology acceptance and usability according to our study's objectives.…”

Older adults’ perspectives towards optimizing lifestyle behaviors and strategies to support healthy brain ageing during COVID-19 restrictions

“…Despite not reaching a population-level increase in awareness of dementia risk reduction, the study demonstrated that exposure to the campaign led to a greater awareness and motivation for behavior change. However, effective population-level prevention requires both individual motivation for behavior change, along with public health action supported by widespread societal and policy change which poses additional systemic challenges ( 6 , 21 , 22 ).…”