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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Do subjective memory complaints predict cognitive dysfunction over time?
— a six-year follow-up of the Maastricht Aging Study | | Author(s) | Martine E M Mel, Martin P J van Boxtel, Dick Willems |
| Journal title | International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, vol 21, no 5, May 2006 |
| Pages | pp 432-441 |
| Source | http://www.interscience.wiley.com |
| Keywords | Memory disorders ; Mental speed ; Mental disorder ; Longitudinal surveys ; Netherlands. |
| Annotation | Middle aged and older people often worry that their perceived diminishing memory function may indicate incipient dementia. The present study asks questions regarding subjective memory complaints as a predictor of lower performance on cognitive tasks. Also, in participants with subjective memory complaints it was investigated whether trying to keep mentally active improved memory function. Characteristics of the participants who were and were not interested in an intervention to decrease worries and to improve memory in daily life were determined. The study uses data for 557 participants aged 55-85 from the Maastricht Aging Study, a large longitudinal study. Follow-up measurement was performed after 6 years. Outcomes were simple, complex and general information processing speed, and immediate and delayed recall. At baseline, forgetfulness was associated with a slower general information processing and delayed recall. At 6-year follow-up, being forgetful was not associated with a significant change in cognitive performance. Taking steps to remain cognitively active was not a predictor of better performance on cognitive tasks at baseline or follow-up. Being forgetful might be an indicator of slower general information processing speed and delayed recall at baseline, but does not predict cognitive change over 6 years in older people. However, the effects are rather small and cannot directly be generalised to applications in clinical settings. Other factors, such as depression and anxiety might also underlie the cause of the forgetfulness. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-061109002 A |
| Classmark | EH: DG: E: 3J: 76H |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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