Spanish society identifies Alzheimer's (64%) and cancer (70%) as the most worrying health conditions ahead of stroke (47%), while Covid-19 comes in fourth place (44%) due to the current situation. This is one of the main conclusions of the survey “Attitudes and perceptions of the Spanish population regarding Alzheimer's disease”, prepared by the Pasqual Maragall Foundation in its commitment to make Alzheimer's disease a priority. This nationally representative survey offers, for the first time, a detailed view of the perceptions, knowledge and attitudes of the Spanish population regarding Alzheimer's and its research.
Concern about Alzheimer's is increasing among older people, as 83% of the population consider this disease to be the main health problem faced by the elderly, far ahead of Parkinson's (48%), which is in second place and ahead of infectious diseases such as Covid-19 (34%).
The data also reveal the high incidence of Alzheimer's among the population, as 2 out of 3 Spaniards say they have or have had someone in their environment affected by this disease, a first-degree relative in 28% of cases.
“We are aware of the high impact of Alzheimer's, and we wanted to know if this perception was reflected in society and if the real impact of the disease corresponded to society's perception. In addition, we needed the survey to take into account the current moment, with the appearance of Covid-19. The results clearly reflect that Alzheimer's is one of the most feared and worrying diseases, along with cancer.” explains the Director of the Pasqual Maragall Foundation, Dr. Arcadi Navarro.
More than 601% of the population demands more resources for research
Another aspect confirmed by the survey is that health (71%) and research (61%) are the two main areas in which Spaniards believe more resources should be invested. In this sense, those surveyed believe that the emergence of Covid-19 should not diminish the importance of research into other diseases (72%).
On the other hand, almost 801% of the population believes that a cure for Alzheimer's will be found and that they will see relevant scientific advances. To this end, 591% of Spaniards say that priority lines of research must be focused on finding a treatment to cure and prevent the disease.
In this regard, Dr. Navarro points out, “Most research efforts have been directed at diseases with high mortality rates, to the detriment of those that cause a greater number of years of life with disability and dependency, such as Alzheimer's. In general, dementia has been a disease that has been forgotten in research budgets, despite its high incidence among the population and its enormous impact on the families affected.”
That is why this past July the Pasqual Maragall Foundation presented a proposal to the Non-Permanent Commission for Social and Economic Reconstruction of the Congress of Deputies in which she requested that sufficient resources be provided for research into diseases such as Alzheimer's and that work be done on developing a new model of long-term care, both at residential and home levels.
