Associations Between Trust in Healthcare Professionals and Perceptions of Modifiability of Dementia and Stroke Risks Through Maintaining or Changing Lifestyle Habits

PurposeTo investigate the trust levels in health information sources from a United States (U.S.) sample, and to examine the relationships between trust in healthcare professionals (HCPs) and perceptions of modifiability of dementia and stroke risks through maintaining or changing lifestyle habits.DesignCross-sectional.SettingA survey distributed via the vendor platform Prolific to a sample of the U.S. population.ParticipantsData included on U.S. adults (n = 1478) in 2023.MeasuresOutcome variables were perceiving that dementia and stroke risk can be modified through maintaining or changing lifestyle habits. Independent variables were trust levels in HCPs.AnalysisDescriptive analysis was performed to assess levels of trust in information sources. Subsequently, we performed multivariable regression analyses between trust in HCPs and perceptions of risk modifiability in dementia and stroke. A hierarchal cluster analysis was conducted to characterize trust patterns in this cohort.ResultsParticipants with high trust in HCPs compared to those with low trust in HCPs were more likely to perceive that maintaining (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.57, 95% confidence interval [CI]:1.15-2.12) and changing lifestyle habits (aOR = 1.72, 95% CI: 1.26-2.33) could reduce risk of dementia. Similar associations were found for perceptions of stroke risk reduction through maintaining (aOR = 1.49, 95% CI: 1.07-2.04) and changing (aOR = 2.68, 95% CI: 1.72-4.12) lifestyle habits. Cluster analyses identified three trust patterns amongst the participants: (i) a generally trusting cluster, (ii) a trusting of "official" health sources only cluster, and (iii) a generally not trusting cluster.ConclusionThis study found statistically significant associations between trusting HCPs and the perceptions that maintaining or changing lifestyle habits can modify risks of dementia and stroke, highlighting the importance of trust when developing preventive strategies.