Norwegians fear cancer and Alzheimer’s disease the most

Health worker takes the pulse of male patient.Photo: Heiko Junge / SCANPIX

One out of three deaths in Norway is due to cardiovascular disease, yet it is cancer and Alzheimer’s disease that Norwegians over 50 years of age fear most of all, a new study shows.

‘What we are afraid of is not always very rational. More often, fear builds on emotion than reason’, said Martin Bystad, coauthor of the study, to the newspaper VG.

39% report that Alzheimer’s is the disease they are most afraid of getting, followed by cancer with 30%, shows the study, carried out at the University of Tromso.

By comparison, only 2% have a ‘strong fear’ of heart problems.

376 people over the age of 50 participated in the study. Most of the respondents were aged 68 to 70 years old. An article on the study has been published in the journal, ‘Scandinavian Psychologist’ on Sunday.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today