Test Your Knowledge of Alzheimer’s Disease

The following questions are modified from The Facts on Aging Quiz [Palmore, E.B., 1998]. Enter the letter of your answer in the box to the right of each answer list. Please choose the best single answer for each question.

1. Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is estimated to affect _____ today?

  1. 2 thousand people                                                     Your answer?    
  2. 4 million people
  3. 14 million people
  4. 1 hundred people

2. Cognitive impairment (impairment of memory, disorientation, or confusion)

  1. Is an inevitable part of the aging process                      Your answer?    

  2. Increases in old age

  3. Declines with age

  4. Does not change with age

3. Alzheimer’s disease is

  1. The most common type of cognitive impairment           Your answer?    

  2. An acute illness

  3. A benign memory disorder

  4. A form of affective disorder

4. Alzheimer’s disease usually

  1. Can be cured with psychotherapy                                Your answer?    

  2. Can be cured with pharmacology (medications)

  3. Goes into remission among the very old

  4. Cannot be cured

5. Most people with Alzheimer’s disease

  1. Act pretty much the same way                    Your answer?    

  2. Have confusion and impaired memory

  3. Wander during the day or at night

  4. Repeat the same question or action over and over

6. Physicians are 100% accurate with the diagnosis of AD by

  1. CT scan                                                     Your answer?    

  2. Neurological exam

  3. Autopsy

  4. Interview of client & family

7. The primary mental problem experienced by the elderly is

  1. Anxiety disorders                                         Your answer?    

  2. Mood disorders

  3. Schizophrenia

  4. Cognitive impairments

8. Talking with people who have dementia

  1. Tends to increase their confusion                   Your answer?    

  2. Is usually pleasurable

  3. Should be confined to trivial matters

  4. Should be avoided as much as possible

9. When people with dementia talk about their past, it usually

  1. Is enjoyed by them                                        Your answer?    

  2. Depresses them

  3. Increases their confusion

  4. Has no effect

10. The most common form of dementia is

  1. Multi-infarct dementia                                     Your answer?    

  2. Alzheimer’s disease

  3. Pick’s disease

  4. Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease