What are the preferences of patients attending a memory clinic for disclosure of Alzheimer's disease?

Background/aims: This report shares and discusses the collected personal preferences of patients attending a memory clinic for disclosure of a potential Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis.

Methods: In this prospective study of outpatients attending a single memory clinic over a 6-year period (March 2004-October 2010), doctors collected their patients' wishes (willingness to be informed, motivation, presence of the family) through a standardized procedure.

Results: Of the 1005 patients questioned throughout the study period-with a final diagnosis of dementia for 480 of them-858 (85.3%) wished to be informed of an AD diagnosis, whereas 72 (7.2%) did not and 75 (7.5%) were not sure. Older age and reduced cognitive functioning were independently associated with a preference to not be informed of a potential AD diagnosis.

Conclusion: Our study provides evidence of the willingness of most patients to know the truth vis-à-vis AD and also offers some insight into their motivations.