Subjective Memory Problems and Availability of Emotional Support

Look who is complaining: Psychological factors predicting subjective cognitive complaints in a large community sample of older adults

Subjective cognitive complaints (SCCs) are not directly related to objective impairments in cognition. This study examines the role of psychological factors in predicting SCCs in the domains of executive functioning, memory, and attention in older adults. A community sample of 1,219 Dutch adults, aged 40 year or older, completed the BRIEF-A, MSEQ, FEDA, NEO-FFI, DASS-21, and a demographic questionnaire. Participants were randomly divided into exploratory (n = 813) and confirmatory samples (n = 406). In the exploratory sample, we analyzed whether personality factors, symptoms of depression and anxiety, perceived stress, and demographics could predict SCCs in the different cognitive domains. For this purpose, a two-step regression approach with bootstrapping was used. To independently validate the results, these analyses were repeated in the confirmatory sample. Concerning executive functioning, complaints regarding the ability to regulate behavior and emotional responses were predicted by lower agreeableness levels and higher levels of neuroticism and perceived stress. Complaints regarding the ability to actively solve problems in different circumstances were predicted by a lower conscientiousness level, higher agreeableness level, and more depressive symptoms. Attentional complaints were predicted by lower levels of conscientiousness and extraversion, together with a higher level of neuroticism. For memory, no significant predictors were consistently found. Psychological factors are of influence on the subjective experience of cognitive complaints. In particular personality factors, perceived stress, and symptoms of depression, seem to predict SCCs in the domains of executive functioning and attention. Clinicians should take these factors into account in older adults who have SCCs.

Multiple socioeconomic risks and cognitive impairment among older men and women in India

Introduction

Socioeconomic status (SES) is negatively associated with innumerable health outcomes, including cognitive functioning. Yet much remains undiscovered about SES patterns in later-life cognition in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). The purpose of this study was to examine the association between separate and combined socioconomic risks and cognitive impairment among older adults in India. Further, given gender disparities in later life cognitive functioning and SES, the study examines the associations between socioeconomic risks and cognitive impairment separately, for older men and women.

Methods

Data come from the 2017-18, first wave of the Longitudinal Aging Study in India (LASI), with 31,464 older adults aged 60 years and above. Cognitive impairment was assessed using multiple broad measures of memory, orientation, arithmetic function, and visuo-spatial construction skills. We present descriptive statistics along with cross-tabulation of the outcome variable. Additionally, binary logistic regression analysis was used to test the association between outcome and explanatory variables. SES is measured using education, paid work status, and household wealth measured using monthly per-capita consumption expenditure (MPCE).

Results

A proportion of 7.14% of the older men and 20.03% of older women reported cognitive impairment. The odds of cognitive impairment were higher among uneducated older men and women, and older men and women in lowest wealth quintile. Surprisingly, older women without current or prior work history report lower odds of cognitive impairment compared to their peers in labor force. While odds of cognitive impairment are higher among non-working older men, this association is not statistically significant. In older men, the odds of cognitive impairment were 5.34, 7.14, and 13.05 times higher with one, two, and three risk factors, respectively, compared with those with no risk exposure. A similar trend was observed for women but with comparatively lower odds.

Conclusions

Our findings underscore the need to distinguish between varying elements of SES to construct "upstream" health policies and programs that redistribute resources. In particular, the findings support the use of multiple SES indicators in identifying older adults most susceptible to cognitive deficits, and planning gender-based interventions to improve cognitive health in late life.

Subtypes of social support availability are not differentially associated with memory: a cross-sectional analysis of the Comprehensive Cohort of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

 This study investigated the association between subtypes of social support availability (SSA) and memory in persons aged 45 to 85 years (n = 24,719). We examined two memory outcomes using a modified Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT)-immediate recall (RAVLT I) and delayed recall (RAVLT II)-and five subtypes of SSA: affectionate, emotional/informational, positive interactions, tangible, overall. We found statistically significant and adjusted positive associations between all SSA subtypes and memory, except for positive interactions and delayed recall memory. For RAVLT I, the regression coefficients (βˆs) ranged from 0.03 to 0.07; the βˆs for RAVLT II ranged from 0.02 to 0.05. The differences in βˆs for each SSA subtype (βˆ _{RAVLT I} - βˆ _{RAVLT II}) ranged from 0.00 to 0.02 (mean difference = 0.01; 95% confidence interval = -0.01 to 0.03). All effect sizes, regardless of SSA subtype or memory outcome, were small and clinically unimportant.

The association between subjective cognitive decline and trajectories of objective cognitive decline: Do social relationships matter?

OBJECTIVES

We examine the association between subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and the trajectories of objective cognitive decline (OCD); and the extent to which this association is moderated by social relationships.

METHODS

Data come from waves 10 (2010) through 14 (2018) of the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative panel survey of individuals aged 50 and above in the United States. OCD is measured using episodic memory, and overall cognition. SCD is assessed using a baseline measure of self-rated memory. Social relationships are measured by social network size and perceived positive and negative social support. Growth curve models estimate the longitudinal link between SCD and subsequent OCD trajectories and the interactions between SCD and social relationship variables on OCD.

RESULTS

SCD is associated with subsequent OCD. A wider social network and lower perceived negative support are linked to slower decline in memory, and overall cognition. None of the social relationship variables, however, moderate the link between SCD and future OCD.

CONCLUSION

Knowing that SCD is linked to subsequent OCD is useful because at SCD stage, deficits are more manageable relative to those at subsequent stages of OCD. Future work on SCD and OCD should consider additional dimensions of social relationships.

Urban-rural variation in the association between social support availability and cognitive function in middle-aged and older adults: Results from the baseline Tracking Cohort of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

The purpose of this study was to investigate if and how the associations between social support availability (SSA) and cognitive function varied across urban, rural, and geographical regions in Canada. Data from a population-level sample of community-dwelling adults aged 45-85 years were obtained from the baseline Tracking Cohort of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. The associations between SSA and two domains of cognitive function, memory and executive function, were analyzed using multilevel regression models. SSA was positively and significantly associated with both executive function and memory. We found SSA had stronger positive associations with executive function among participants living in rural areas compared to urban areas in all geographical regions; however, geographical variation in the associations between SSA and memory were not supported by model results. Understanding how the associations between cognitive function and modifiable risk factors, including SSA, vary across geographical contexts is important for developing policies and programs to support healthy aging.

Perceptions of societal ageism and declines in subjective memory during the COVID-19 pandemic: Longitudinal evidence from US adults aged ≥55 years

The cognitive health of older adults since the COVID-19 pandemic onset is unclear, as is the potential impact of pandemic-associated societal ageism on perceived cognition. We investigated associations between perceptions of societal ageism and changes in subjective memory over a 10-month period during the COVID-19 pandemic. We collected longitudinal data from monthly online questionnaires in the nationwide COVID-19 Coping Study of US adults aged ≥55 from April 2020 to January 2021 (N = 4444). We analyzed the data using multivariable longitudinal multilevel models. We identified an overall decline in subjective memory, especially in the initial months of the pandemic. Adults who perceived that societal respect for older adults decreased during the pandemic experienced more rapid declines in their subjective memory. These findings suggest that aging adults perceived a decline in their memory, especially during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Societal interventions to combat ageism may help improve subjective memory and could decrease risk for cognitive decline among middle-aged and older adults.

Parental dementia and subjective memory impairment in the health and retirement study

OBJECTIVES

To examine relationships between subjective memory impairment (SMI) and parental dementia among in older adults while considering the interactive influence of depressive symptoms, ethnicity, and race.

METHOD

The sample was drawn from the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative longitudinal study of aging (n = 3,809; Mage = 66.09; SD = 1.88; 84.20% White; 12.23% Black; 7.88% Hispanic). Biennial assessments included two measures of SMI (current memory problems and perceived memory decline), depressive symptoms, and parental dementia, over periods of up to sixteen years. Multilevel modeling analyses examined longitudinal relationships between parental dementia and SMI and whether depressive symptoms, ethnicity, and race interactively influenced this association.

RESULTS

Results showed that when older adults reported parental dementia, they were more likely to report a decline in memory in the past two years. They also reported poorer current memory problems, especially when they experienced increased depressive symptoms. Associations of parental dementia were consistent across ethnicity and race.

CONCLUSIONS

Results demonstrate the importance of considering parental dementia as a factor that may contribute to SMI in older adults.

The Impact of Memory Change on Everyday Life Among Older Adults: Association with Cognition and Self-Reported Memory

OBJECTIVES

Many older adults experience memory changes that can have a meaningful impact on their everyday lives, such as restrictions to lifestyle activities and negative emotions. Older adults also report a variety of positive coping responses that help them manage these changes. The purpose of this study was to determine how objective cognitive performance and self-reported memory are related to the everyday impact of memory change.

METHODS

We examined these associations in a sample of 94 older adults (age 60-89, 52% female) along a cognitive ability continuum from normal cognition to mild cognitive impairment.

RESULTS

Correlational analyses revealed that greater restrictions to lifestyle activities (|rs| = .36-.66), more negative emotion associated with memory change (|rs| = .27-.76), and an overall greater burden of memory change on everyday living (|rs| = .28-.61) were associated with poorer objective memory performance and lower self-reported memory ability and satisfaction. Performance on objective measures of executive attention was unrelated to the impact of memory change. Self-reported strategy use was positively related to positive coping with memory change (|r| = .26), but self-reported strategy use was associated with more negative emotions regarding memory change (|r| = .23).

CONCLUSIONS

Given the prevalence of memory complaints among older adults, it is important to understand the experience of memory change and its impact on everyday functioning in order to develop services that target the specific needs of this population.

Change in Physical Activity, Sleep Quality, and Psychosocial Variables during COVID-19 Lockdown: Evidence from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936

(1) Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected the lives of older people. In this study, we examine changes in physical activity, sleep quality, and psychosocial variables among older people during COVID-19 lockdown. We build on cross-sectional studies on this topic by assessing change longitudinally. We also examined whether participant characteristics including demographic, cognitive, personality, and health variables were related to more positive or negative changes during lockdown. (2) Methods: 137 older participants (mean age 84 years) from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 study were included in the analysis. They completed the same questionnaires assessing physical activity, sleep quality, mental wellbeing, social support, loneliness, neighbourhood cohesion, and memory problems before (mostly 2 years earlier) and again during national lockdown. (3) Results: On average, levels of physical activity were reduced (those doing minimal physical activity increased from 10% to 19%) and perceived social support increased during lockdown (effect size drm = 0.178). More positive change in the psychosocial and behavioural outcome variables during lockdown was associated with personality traits (greater intellect, emotional stability, and extraversion) and having a higher general cognitive ability. Participants with a history of cardiovascular disease, more symptoms of anxiety, or who lived alone were more likely to experience negative changes in the outcome variables during lockdown. (4) Discussion: These results provide further insight into the experiences of older people during the COVID-19 pandemic and could help to identify those at greatest risk of negative psychosocial or behavioural changes during this time.