Factors Associated With Dementia Knowledge and Dementia Worry in the South Korean Elderly Population

Abstract

Objective South Korea is one of the countries with a very fast aging rate, and the prevalence of dementia is rapidly increasing. However, there are relatively few studies pertaining to sociodemographic and physical health-related factors associated with dementia knowledge and dementia worry.Methods This was a cross-sectional survey of a community in Seocho-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Overall, 1,869 adults aged 60 years participated. Participants completed an online interview or face-to-face interview. Survey data comprised self-report questions including dementia knowledge, dementia worry, demographic, psychological, exercise, and cognitive activities. We conducted logistic regression analysis.Results There was a significant positive association between dementia worry and knowledge. Family history of dementia, education, income, sleep problems, depressed mood and loss of volition, chronic diseases, and presence of a past job were associated with dementia knowledge or worry. Reading, art, or social cognitive activities had a significant positive association with dementia knowledge, and writing or musical cognitive activities had a negative association with dementia worry.Conclusion We found that people with more dementia knowledge and less dementia worry engaged more in cognitive activities that could prevent dementia. Public education should be planned to improve dementia knowledge and reduce dementia worry.

Perceptions and worries about monkeypox, and attitudes towards monkeypox vaccination among medical workers in China: A cross-sectional survey

“…The reason for this positive association might be that medical staff with high levels of monkeypox common knowledge were more aware of the severity of monkeypox global outbreak. The same phenomenon has been found in studies of other diseases [28] , [29] . A recent cross-sectional study of 1,546 participants found that more than 60% of participants were more worried about COVID-19 than monkeypox [12] , similar to our findings (69.3%).…”

Public awareness, specific knowledge, and worry about mpox (monkeypox): A preliminary community-based study in Shenzhen, China

“…It is important to note a positive association between a high level of knowledge and worry in this study. This phenomenon was also reported in other diseases (42)(43)(44). The reason for this positive association may be that people with a high knowledge level are more likely to understand the susceptibility and severity associated with mpox and the global outbreak, especially for those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic substantially.…”

How Are Sociodemographic, Health, Psychological, and Cognitive Factors Associated with Dementia Worry? An Online Survey Study among Israeli and Australian Laypeople

“…Dementia worry was found to be relatively low in both countries, as the average score was 1.78 and 1.67 for Israel and Australia, respectively, out of a 1–5 range, although it was significantly higher in Israel than in Australia, supporting our first hypothesis. Moreover, as hypothesized and similar to previous studies [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 34 , 35 , 36 ], positive and statistically significant associations were observed between dementia worry and knowledge of dementia, self-perceived dementia risk, ageism, and dementia stigma in both samples. However, contrary to our expectations, the interaction effects for dementia worry level by country were insignificant.…”

“…Investigations of factors associated with dementia worry are also scarce. The most important and consistent factors described in the literature have included sociodemographic characteristics (increased age, female gender, and exposure to dementia), health characteristics (decreased general and cognitive health), psychological characteristics (increased depression and distress), and cognitive characteristics (increased dementia knowledge, and stigmatic beliefs) [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]. However, there may be other understudied factors associated with dementia worry, such as culture.…”