Are subjective cognitive complaints related to memory functioning in the working population?

Abstract

Background: Cognitive functioning is important for managing work and life in general. Some experience problems with cognitive functioning, often referred to as subjective cognitive complaints (SCC). These problems are rather prevalent in the working population and can be coupled with both lowered well-being and work ability. However, the relation between SCC and memory functioning across the adult age-span, and in the work force, is not clear as few population-based studies have been conducted on non-elderly adults. Thus, the present study aimed to test the relation between SCC and actual declarative memory functioning in a population-based sample of employees. Methods: Participants were 233 employees with either high (cases) or low (controls) levels of SCC. Group differences in neuropsychological tests of semantic and episodic memory, as well as episodic memory performance during higher executive demands (divided attention) were analysed through a set of analyses of covariance tests. Results: Significantly poorer episodic memory performance during divided attention (i.e. high executive demands) was found in the group with high SCC compared to controls with little SCC, while no group differences were found in semantic memory. No group differences were found in immediate or delayed episodic memory during focused attention conditions. Furthermore, depressive symptoms, chronic stress symptoms and sleeping problems were found to play a role in the relation between SCC and episodic memory during divided attention. Conclusions: This study contributes to an increased understanding of what characterizes SCC in the work force and suggests a relation to poorer executive cognitive functioning.

Prevalence and Incidence of Memory Complaints in Employed Compared to Non-Employed Aged 55–64 Years and the Role of Employment Characteristics

“…If older workers with cognitively demanding jobs report prevalent memory complaints because they simply notice their deteriorating memory performance due to their cognitive work demands, these individuals may benefit from a decrease in cognitive work demands to reduce memory complaints. In addition, memory complaints have been shown to also be related to executive functioning in employed individuals [ 46 ]. Therefore, individuals performing cognitively demanding jobs may also benefit from lowering distractions from the working environment.…”

Subjective cognitive complaints, psychosocial factors and nursing work function in nurses providing direct patient care

“…Impairments in cognitive functioning for nurses seriously compromise patient safety and patient outcomes. While many studies have examined the relationship between SCC and dementia in older people (Mendonca, Alves, & Bugalho, 2016;Mitchell, Beaumont, Ferguson, Yadegardfar, & Stubbs, 2014), there has been a recent focus on SCC in the non-elderly population (Stenfors, Marklund, Magnusson Hanson, Theorell, & Nilsson, 2014). SCC in non-elderly adults are more likely to be related to depression (Reid et al, 2012), stress (Vestergren & Nilsson, 2011) and sleep disturbances (Stenfors, Magnusson Hanson, Theorell, Ozenstierna, & Nilsson, 2013).…”

“…SCC have been studied across a wide array of clinical populations for example, persons with fibromyalgia (Kratz, Schilling, Goesling, & Williams, 2015), persons with cancer undergoing chemotherapy (Ganz et al, 2013) and individuals with epilepsy (Martin, Griffith, Sawrie, Knowlton, & Faught, 2006). SCC have also been examined in working populations by researchers interested in analysing relationships between SCC and memory (Stenfors et al, 2014), with the goal of maintaining work productivity. Findings demonstrated people with SCC had reduced episodic memory when performing high demand memory tasks (having to multi-task during recall) than people without cognitive complaints.…”

Prevalence of mind and body exercises (MBE) in relation to demographics, self-rated health, and purchases of prescribed psychotropic drugs and analgesics

“…The participants were asked about difficulties during the past three months with four symptoms regarding cognitive abilities (concentration, decision making, memory and the ability to think clearly). The scale, ranging from 1 (“never”) to 5 (“always”), is originally from The Stress Profile Questionnaire [ 48 , 49 ], and a mean scale (score 1–5) was used for the analyses.…”