The use of religion, prayer, and faith to cope with the receipt of Alzheimer's disease risk information in a research context: A qualitative study of Latinos in NYC

People commonly turn to religion when confronted with threatening events including illness. However, limited research has investigated the use of religious coping to manage distress associated with knowledge of one’s risk for serious illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). To examine how they coped with receiving information about their risk for late-onset AD, semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of Latinos (ages 40-64) living in Northern Manhattan approximately 6 weeks, 9 and 15 months after receiving a numerical risk estimate (expressed as a percentage) of their chances of developing AD by age 85. Some also were told their APOE genotype, including whether it increased their susceptibility to late onset AD. Of 202 participants interviewed, 43 mentioned using religion to cope with the implications of receiving their AD risk information and the emotions it evoked and are the focus of this report. Five themes emerged from the data: 1) Praying to be protected from AD; 2) Praying to help manage emotions; 3) Giving control over to God; 4) Accepting AD as part of God’s plan; and 5) Praying for the strength to accept one’s fate and deal with whatever it brings. To our knowledge this is the first report describing how individuals use religion/spirituality to cope with the perceived implications of and the emotions elicited by receiving their AD risk information. This information can inform the development of culturally tailored support resources for those who choose to learn their risk status. • Latinos use religion to cope with their worry about Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk • Latinos gave control over to God to calm their fears of developing AD • Many Latinos felt it was important to work together with God to prevent AD • Incorporating a brief spiritual assessment in genetic counseling may be considered