Overview

• The review synthesized data from 564,497 participants and was published in Annals of Behavioral Medicine.
• Avoidance was highest for Alzheimer at 41% and Huntington at 40%, and lower yet substantial for HIV at 32%, cancer at 29% and diabetes at 24%.
• The study defines information avoidance as delaying or skipping doctor visits, shunning tests, ignoring results or disregarding educational materials.
• Researchers identified 16 contributing factors, including cognitive overload, fear of stigma, perceived lack of control and mistrust in medical systems.
• Demographic variables such as gender or ethnicity were not decisive, and the analysis did not make direct country-to-country comparisons.