Fear of dementia among middle-aged and older adults in Germany.

Introduction: The objective of this study was to clarify the frequency of fear of dementia and the factors associated with it. Methods: Data were taken from a nationally representative sample (n=4,000; average age was 54.9 years, SD: 8.5 years, age ranges from 40 to 70 years, 49.6. Similar to prior research, fear of dementia was quantified using a tool ranging from 1 (no fear of dementia) to 4 (severe fear of dementia). Results: In sum, 19.0 34.6 33.8 and 12.7 being younger, poorer self-rated health, the presence of at least one chronic disease, not living in the same household with a partner or not being in a relationship at all, having depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms. Conclusion: Study findings showed that fear of dementia is particularly associated with health-related factors, age and gender. Lifestyle factors and other socioeconomic factors were only occasionally significant. Future research should explore the reasons for such a higher frequency of people's fear of dementia. It would also be interesting to find out new factors associated with the fear of dementia. Furthermore, further research could focus on cross-country comparisons and could stratify the results by important groups e.g., by sex or education, but also cultural and ethnic aspects.