Aging, memory loss, and Alzheimer’s disease: What do refugees from the former Soviet Union think?

Since the mid-1970s, approximately 700,000 émigrés from the former Soviet Union (FSU), most of Jewish descent, settled in the United States. Now, 25 or more years post-emigration, they have “aged in place” in the United States, but their values, beliefs, and attitudes about growing old, memory changes, and Alzheimer’s disease remain grounded in their earlier life experiences. Based on findings from a study of the social and cultural factors affecting beliefs about Alzheimer’s disease, aging, and memory loss, this article examines how past life experiences, the immigration experience, and cultural values affect Russian-speaking refugees’ beliefs and views about aging, memory loss, and Alzheimer’s disease.