title: Attitudes of elderly subjects toward "truth telling" for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: This study expands on previous research regarding attitudes of older adults toward disclosure of the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Two hundred patients 65 years or older completed a questionnaire assessing opinions about being told the diagnosis of AD versus cancer. Most responded they wanted to be told if they had AD or terminal cancer (92% for AD, 86.5% for cancer, P = .06). Those with personal experience with AD were significantly less likely to want to know themselves if they had AD than were those without personal experience (P < .0001). A variety of reasons were given for wanting to be told the diagnosis of AD, including a small minority (1.7%) who would consider suicide. Although these results appear to support recent American Medical Association guidelines favoring disclosure of a dementia diagnosis, complex issues remain. Further research is needed to develop guidelines for physicians in disclosing dementia diagnoses that includes outcome studies of disclosure to patients.
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester, New Hampshire, USA.
authors.forename: Quentin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Turnbull
authors.forename: Andrew M D
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Holroyd
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014342:Truth Disclosure