Attitudes, Motivations, and Barriers to Pre-Symptomatic Alzheimer’s Disease Screening: Development and Validation of the ‘Perceptions regarding pRE-symptomatic Alzheimer’s Disease Screening’ (PRE-ADS) Questionnaire

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Makri, Marina^{a; b; e} | Gkioka, Mara^{a; e} | Moraitou, Despina^{c; e} | Fidani, Liana^d | Tegos, Thomas^{a; e} | Tsolaki, Magdalini^{a; b; e}

Affiliations: [a] Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece | [b] Greek Association of Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders, Thessaloniki, Greece | [c] Department of Experimental and Cognitive Psychology, School of Psychology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece | [d] Department of Medical Biology-Genetics, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece | [e] Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation (CIRI – AUTh), Balkan Center, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Marina Makri, Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 13 Petrou Sindika, 54643, Thessaloniki, Greece. Tel.: +306949431758; makrimarina@yahoo.gr

Abstract: Background:Pre-symptomatic screening methods for detecting a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are gaining popularity; thus, more people are seeking these tests. However, to date, not much is known about the attitudes toward pre-symptomatic AD screening. Objective:The goal of this study is to examine the psychometric properties of a tool for assessing the attitudes, barriers, and motivations to pre-symptomatic AD screening. Methods:This is a cross-sectional study performed on 208 Greek participants (189 students and 19 caregivers) provided with an online questionnaire. Psychometric properties were assessed through the examination of its construct validity (principal component analysis) and internal consistency. Results:Exploratory factor analysis revealed the presence of four factors. The first factor is labeled as “Perceived harms of testing” (10 items), the second “Acceptance of testing” (5 items), the third “Perceived benefits of testing” (6 items), and the fourth factor “Need for knowledge” (4 items). The reliability (internal consistency) of each factor separately was acceptable to good (0.70–0.87) while the internal consistency of the overall questionnaire (25 items) was good (Cronbach’s α=0.82). Conclusion:PRE-ADS is a valid questionnaire that might help in the research of peoples’ attitudes related to the pros and cons of pre-symptomatic screening for AD, and the development of effective counseling programs and prevention strategies. However, future research is required in the target population.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, attitudes, benefits, perceived harms, pre-symptomatic testing, psychometrics, screening, screening acceptance, validation

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-220954

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 95, no. 3, pp. 1163-1174, 2023