Abstract
The increasing prevalence of dementia has become a public health issue worldwide including China. This study aims to explore the perception of Chinese in Hong Kong towards the diagnosis, symptoms and impacts of dementia. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among outpatients (without diagnosed dementia) attending a regional public hospital using a standard questionnaire. The results from 290 respondents showed that most preferred to be told about the diagnosis of dementia as soon as possible if they got it, in order to deal with the news and to access treatment and support early. Nearly two thirds of the respondents perceived practical issues (61.3%), physical health (61.0%), and emotional distress (58.4%) as their most fearful impacts, while legal issues (7.4%) were their least concerns. Family history/genes (79.1%) and brain injury (75.9%) were the most commonly perceived causes of dementia. For symptoms, respondents were more likely to identify cognitive impairments than undesirable behaviours. The accepting and proactive attitudes of the public indicate that there is a timely need of more public education about the disease, early screening and better continuity of care to fulfil the anticipated increase of the dementia patient population.
Highlights
With the ageing of the population worldwide, the increasing prevalence of dementia has become a global public health issue [1]
This study aims to explore the perception of Chinese in Hong Kong towards the diagnosis, symptoms and impacts of dementia
We found that younger respondents were more likely to agree with the followings as the dementia symptoms: trouble remembering recent events, trouble recognising family members, losing or misplacing things, forgetting what day it is and wandering away from home
Summary
With the ageing of the population worldwide, the increasing prevalence of dementia has become a global public health issue [1]. Dementia is the leading cause of death in the UK [2]. It ranks the first, second and sixth cause of disability among the elderly in the UK [2], Australia [3] and the US, respectively [4]. In Hong Kong, approximately 9.3% of adults aged 70 or above are affected by dementia [5,6]. A significant increase in local prevalence is highly likely as Hong Kong population enjoys the world’s highest life expectancy [7,8]. According to the Census and Statistics Department, the proportion of elderly aged 65 or over in Hong Kong is going to double in 25 years, from 16.5% in to 31.0% in 2042 [9]; citizen aged 85 or older was 2.5% in 2017 and is projected to increase more than double to 6.7% by 2042
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