Disclosure of Alzheimer's disease. Senior citizens' opinions.

OBJECTIVE To determine the proportion of elderly people without dementia who would want disclosure of a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), for themselves or for their spouses, and to verify whether the availability of medication would influence their decision.

DESIGN A cross-sectional survey with a semistructured questionnaire completed during face-to-face interviews.

SETTING Medical and surgical outpatient clinics in St Mary's Hospital Center.

PARTICIPANTS 204 subjects 65 years or older with at most mild cognitive impairment.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Percentage of positive responses for disclosure of a diagnosis of AD to self or to spouse, with or without medication.

RESULTS Nearly all (98%) subjects wanted disclosure for themselves. Most (78%) wanted disclosure for their potentially afflicted spouses when medication was said to be unavailable. This proportion increased to 97%, however, if medication was available.

CONCLUSION Most participants requested honesty for themselves. Most wanted disclosure to a potentially affected spouse when medication is said to be available.