Correlates of personal concerns about developing Alzheimer's disease among middle-aged persons

Abstract

We examine correlates of personal concerns about developing Alzheimer's disease (AD) among (1) adult children, 40 to 60 years of age, who have a living parent with a diagnosis of probable AD (N = 108), and (2) a matched comparison group of persons with no parental history of AD (N = 150). Using stepwise regression, predictors measuring subjective perceptions of memory functioning, overall family history of AD, knowledge of AD, and sociodemographic characteristics were entered into models for the total sample and each of the subsamples. The results indicate that worries about memory functioning play a consistent role in personal concerns about developing AD across both groups, but that additional pathways to personal concerns differ among individuals having and not having a parent with AD.