Associations of subjective cognitive and memory decline with depression, anxiety, and two-year change in objectively-assessed global cognition and memory

Abstract

Research studies exploring the association of cognitive complaints with objectively assessed cognitive decline report inconsistent results. However, many of these have methodological limitations. We investigated whether 1) more severe subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and subjective memory decline (SMD) predict change in objectively assessed global cognition, remote memory, recent memory, learning; 2) the predictive value of more severe SMD over change in objectively assessed remote memory, recent memory, and learning is stronger for individuals that report an SMD that started within the past five years than for those that report an SMD that started five or more years previously and/or stronger for those that experienced SMD within the past two years than for those who had not; and 3) greater depression and anxiety are associated with more severe SCD and SMD. We used two-year longitudinal data from the CFAS-Wales study (N = 1,531; mean (SD) age = 73.0 (6.0) years). We fitted linear regression models. More severe SCD and SMD did not predict change in objectively assessed global cognition, remote memory, and recent memory but predicted lower scores in learning. The prediction of SMD over change in learning was not stronger when individuals reported an SMD that started within the past five years compared to when they reported an SMD that started five or more years previously nor when individuals reported an SMD that started within the past two years than those who did not. Greater depression and anxiety were associated with more severe SCD and SMD. More severe SMD may be useful for predicting lower learning ability and for identifying individuals experiencing depression and anxiety.

Subjective cognitive decline and anxious/depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic: what is the role of stress perception, stress resilience, and β-amyloid?

“…In line with our hypothesis, participants having higher levels of SCD showed higher anxious/depressive symptoms during the confinement irrespective of the pre-confinement anxiety/depression levels. These results are consistent with previous studies showing associations between SCD and affective symptoms [ 26 , 56 ], specifically during the pandemic [ 3 , 6 , 7 ]. Previous studies performed during the pandemic focused on the differences in mental health outcomes between participants with SCD [ 7 ] and with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or AD dementia [ 3 , 6 ].…”

Cognitive phenotypes in late-life depression

“…Finally, there is a mixed evidence on the importance of subjective cognitive complaints in older adults. Some studies suggest relevance of cognitive complaints to preclinical Alzheimer's disease (Lin et al, 2019;Rabin et al, 2017), and others sugges the symptoms are more related to depressive symptoms and not cognitive decline (Sabatini et al, 2021;Zlatar et al, 2018). In the current study, compared to NDE, participants with LLD reported greater subjective cognitive complaints; however, the severity of complaints did not differentiate the cognitive phenotypes.…”

A dominance analysis of subjective cognitive complaint comorbidities in former professional football players with and without mild cognitive impairment

“…SCD, however, can also occur with no evidence of these neurobiological changes or worsening clinical state over time, highlighting that there are other underlying factors that can influence SCD (Burmester et al, 2016). Higher levels of SCD are associated with demographic (race and education; (Rohr et al, 2020), health (pain, TBI history; (Roberts et al, 2021; Walton, Kerr, et al, 2021; Westoby et al, 2009), psychological (depression, anxiety, personality) and situational factors (stress, chronic sleep disturbance, decreased activities and roles; (Ryu et al, 2016; Sabatini et al, 2021). Many of the aforementioned factors are highly prevalent and co-morbid in older adults.…”