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Factors affecting subjective memory complaints in the AIBL aging study: biomarkers, memory, affect, and age

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 May 2013

R. Buckley ,
M. M. Saling ,
D. Ames ,
C. C. Rowe ,
N. T. Lautenschlager ,
S. L. Macaulay ,
R. N. Martins ,
C. L. Masters ,
T. O'Meara  and
G. Savage
...Show all authors
R. Buckley*
Affiliation:
Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
M. M. Saling
Affiliation:
Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
D. Ames
Affiliation:
National Aging Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia Academic Unit for Psychiatry of Old Age, St. Vincent's Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
C. C. Rowe
Affiliation:
Department of Nuclear Medicine and Centre for PET, Austin Health, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia Department of Medicine, Austin Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
N. T. Lautenschlager
Affiliation:
Academic Unit for Psychiatry of Old Age, St. Vincent's Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences and Western Australian Centre for Health and Aging, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
S. L. Macaulay
Affiliation:
Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organization Preventative Health Flagship, Parkville, Australia
R. N. Martins
Affiliation:
School of Exercise, Biomedical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia
C. L. Masters
Affiliation:
The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
T. O'Meara
Affiliation:
Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organization Preventative Health Flagship, Parkville, Australia
G. Savage
Affiliation:
ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
C. Szoeke
Affiliation:
National Aging Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia
V. L. Villemagne
Affiliation:
The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia Department of Nuclear Medicine and Centre for PET, Austin Health, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia Department of Medicine, Austin Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
K. A. Ellis
Affiliation:
The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia Academic Unit for Psychiatry of Old Age, St. Vincent's Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Rachel Buckley, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia. Phone: +61-3-8344-4297. Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

Background:

The prognostic value of subjective memory complaints (SMCs) in the diagnosis of dementia of the Alzheimer's type is unclear. While some studies have found an association between SMCs and cognitive decline, many have found a stronger association with depression, which raises questions about their diagnostic utility.

Methods:

We examined the cross-sectional association between SMC severity (as measured using the MAC-Q, a brief SMC questionnaire) and affect, memory, and Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarkers (β-amyloid deposition and the apolipoprotein E ε4 (APOEε4) allele) in healthy elderly controls (HC; M = 78.74 years, SD = 6.7) and individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI; M = 72.74 years, SD = 8.8). We analyzed a subset of individuals drawn from the Australian Imaging Biomarkers and Lifestyle (AIBL) Study of Aging.

Results:

SMCs were more severe in MCI patients than in HCs. SMC severity was related to affective variables and the interaction between age and group membership (HC/MCI). Within the HC group, SMC severity was related to affective variables only, while severity correlated only with age in the MCI group. SMCs were not related to cognitive variables or AD biomarkers.

Conclusion:

SMCs were related to solely by poorer mood (greater depressive and anxious symptomatology) in the cognitively healthy elderly however mean levels were subclinical. This finding argues for the assessment of affective symptomatology in conjunction with cognitive assessment in elderly memory complainers. Future AIBL research will focus on assessing other AD biomarkers, such as brain atrophy and Aβ plasma markers, in relation to complaint severity. Once our 36-month follow-up data are collected, we propose to assess whether SMCs can predict future cognitive decline.

Keywords

subjective memory complaintsagingdepressionanxiety
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 25 , Issue 8: Elder abuse an international perspective , August 2013 , pp. 1307 - 1315
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2013 

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