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.