The Public's ability to recognize Alzheimer disease and their beliefs about its causes

The authors report how the population identifies symptoms of Alzheimer disease (AD) and the causes attributed to this disorder in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. A total of 500 household residents aged 18 years and above were examined in a cross-sectional design, in São Paulo. Instruments were a case vignette depicting AD and a structured questionnaire. The symptoms of AD were identified by 46.4% as memory loss. The term AD was used in only 4% of the responses, although 39.4% of the respondents believed it was a mental illness. The main causes attributed were of psychosocial in nature: "drug use" and "isolation." Factors most influencing responses about causes were marital status, level of education, and economic status. In summary, medical-scientific concepts are not usually used in São Paulo. Causal attributions show that the laypersons' beliefs have important differences from the results of scientific evidence.