Public stigma: the community's tolerance of Alzheimer disease.

Objectives: To investigate public stigma relating to Alzheimer disease (AD) and variables correlated with this outcome.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: City of São Paulo, Brazil.

Participants: A representative sample of 500 individuals aged 18-65 years, living within the community.

Measurements: Subjects were interviewed to assess three dimensions of stigma (stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination). Stigma was considered present in this study when all three domains were simultaneously fulfilled.

Results: The 41.6% of the participants expressed stereotypes; 43.4% prejudice; and 35.5% discrimination. Among the whole sample, 14.8% endorsed the stigma definition criterion adopted for this study. Those with fewer years of education were 2.32 times as likely to stigmatize persons carrying AD. Stigma was unaffected by other sociodemographic variables, experience of mental illness, emotional reactions, or general information about AD.

Conclusions: Dimensions of stigma were highly prevalent in relation to AD. Interventions are needed to reduce the negative effects of stigma.