Jónsdóttir, María KristínPálsdóttir, Elva BjörkHannesdóttir, Stefanía ÝrKarlsson, Þorlákur2025-11-172025-11-172022Jónsdóttir, M K, Pálsdóttir, E B, Hannesdóttir, S Ý & Karlsson, Þ 2022, 'Lay Knowledge About Dementia in Iceland : Symptoms and Risk and Protective Factors', Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, vol. 8, pp. 23337214221142937. https://doi.org/10.1177/233372142211429372333-721410418360834b132bb-be8d-49d9-b3fd-048ceacd273836568486PubMedCentral: PMC978076285144524794https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/6024© The Author(s) 2022.No studies are available on the lay knowledge about dementia in Nordic countries. A survey was sent to 829 Icelanders aged 25 to 65 (61.2% female). 60.8% resided in the capital area of Reykjavik. About 90% or more recognized eight of eleven dementia symptoms, with females recognizing them proportionally more often than males. About 50% believed that an individual's risk of developing dementia could be modified. For individual risk factors, agreement ranged from 4% (hearing loss) to 75.1% (history of brain injury). Knowledge about cardiovascular risk factors ranged from 24.8% (obese) to 43.6% (high blood pressure). Participants acknowledged the importance of a healthy diet and an active lifestyle, but only 8% identified a low education level as a risk factor. Public health campaigns and educational efforts about dementia should focus on the whole lifespan targeting all risk and protective factors operating throughout the lifespan.14071623337214221142937eninfo:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess/dk/atira/pure/researchoutput/researchoutputtypes/contributiontojournal/article10.1177/23337214221142937