DISCUSSION

1. Alzheimer’s Disease and Healthy Aging: Are People Using Prevention Strategies?Lynne G. Hodgson, Ph.D. Quinnipiac University • Stephen J. Cutler, Ph.D. University of Vermont • INTRODUCTION • The 21st century might well be the century of preventive health strategies; people today are encouraged to maintain healthy lifestyles in order to reduce their risk of physical disease. But, what about “brain health?” With the aging of the Baby Boom generation, estimates call for a dramatic increase in the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The national Alzheimer’s Association has begun a discussion of the potential benefits of healthy lifestyles for brain health and earlier this year, they initiated a campaign to urge people to “Maintain Your Brain.” (Alzheimer’s Association, 2004). They encourage people to “make brain-healthy life choices, specifically”: • Be heart smart •  Adopt a brain-healthy diet •  Stay physically active •  Stay mentally active •  Remain socially involved • This paper explores the prevention strategies that middle-aged persons employ to reduce their risk of AD. STUDY METHODOLOGY Using data from a larger study on middle-aged persons' concerns about developing AD, we focus here on a descriptive analysis of the types of prevention strategies that respondents identify. The study included 40-60 year old adult children of parents with AD and a matched comparison group with no parental history of dementia (N=258) [Table 1]. The questions used in this analysis were open-ended and yielded qualitative data that were then evaluated according to dominant themes.   RESULTS: MEMORY CONCERNS Along with questions on their fears about developing AD, respondents were asked specifically about their memory concerns. A third of the sample (N=87) expressed worry about their future cognitive health and this subsample was asked to explain their worries: DISCUSSION As scientists have learned more about the etiology of disease, a new emphasis on “prevention” has emerged in health care. In its broadest sense, prevention encompasses lifestyle choices and health habits that promote well-being. Beyond maintaining a healthy body, attention has now turned to maintaining a healthy brain. For example, the Alzheimer’s Association has initiated a public awareness campaign to educate Baby Boomers as to how they can (potentially) reduce the risk of AD as they age. Our study on AD surveyed a group of middle-aged men and women to determine the extent of their actions to maintain a healthy brain. Respondents who reported worries about their current and future cognitive functioning were asked whether they had taken any steps to deal with these concerns and, if they had, precisely what steps they had taken. Almost half (48%) of the respondents reported that they had actively sought to maintain their cognitive health. A third of the subsample reported taking vitamins or other medications such as Ginkgo Biloba; almost a quarter reported that they were exercising more and taking better care of themselves. Analysis of the variety of strategies employed would suggest that middle-aged people have begun to get the message that healthy lifestyles may benefit both their body and mind. Increased emphasis on maintaining a healthy brain to reduce the risk of AD may well be an important focus for public health campaigns in the 21st century. RESULTS: MAINTAINING MEMORY After explaining their memory concerns, respondents were then asked what, if any, steps they had taken about these concerns. In answer to this question, 52% of the subsample reported no action; 48% of the respondents reported on a variety of preventive strategies they had undertaken, designed to maintain their cognitive functioning: