Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T04:58:55.918Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Subjective Memory Impairment. A review of its definitions indicates the need for a comprehensive set of standardised and validated criteria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

Khaled Abdulrab  and
Reinhard Heun
Khaled Abdulrab
Affiliation:
Medical School, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
Reinhard Heun*
Affiliation:
Department of Old Age Psychiatry, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
*
*Corresponding author. Department of Old Age Psychiatry, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. Tel.: +44 121 6782360. E-mail addresses: r.heun@bham.ac.uk, oap@contacts.bham.ac.uk, masooda@bham.ac.uk (R. Heun).
Get access

Abstract

Background

Subjective Memory Impairment (SMI) may hold value in the elderly as a predictor of dementia. There is yet to exist any standard definition of SMI for use in research or for clinical practice.

Objective

This study aims to identify previous and current definitions of SMI used in published research and to propose a set of criteria that may help increase SMI's predictive power of future cognitive decline.

Methods

Literature searches were conducted across a number of electronic databases including Medline.

Results

515 citations were identified, 336 papers were obtained, of which 44 were selected for containing definitions for SMI. These definitions varied widely in terms of the types of questions used to determine SMI and additional features pertaining to memory complaints included in the definition.

Conclusion

There is no consistency in how SMI is defined. We propose a set of criteria aimed to increase specificity of memory complainers for those at increased risk of dementia. Further research is required to refine and validate the different criteria suggested. An international consent on the necessary criteria by experts in the field might be useful.

Keywords

Subjective Memory ImpairmentMemory complaintDementiaAlzheimer's diseaseElderly
Type
Original article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 23 , Issue 5 , August 2008 , pp. 321 - 330
Copyright
Copyright © Elsevier Masson SAS 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alexander, D.M.Arns, M.W.Paul, R.H.Rowe, D.L.Cooper, N.Esser, A.H. et al EEG markers for cognitive decline in elderly subjects with subjective memory complaints J Integr Neurosci 5 1 2006 Mar 49–74.Google Scholar
Antikainen, R.Hanninen, T.Honkalampi, K.Hintikka, J.Koivumaa-Honkanen, H.Tanskanen, A. et al Mood improvement reduces memory complaints in depressed patients Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 251 1 2001 6–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barker, A.Jones, R.Jennison, C.A prevalence study of age-associated memory impairment Br J Psychiatry 167 5 1995 Nov 642–648.Google Scholar
Bartres-Faz, D.Junque, C.Lopez-Alomar, A.Valveny, N.Moral, P.Casamayor, R. et al Neuropsychological and genetic differences between age-associated memory impairment and mild cognitive impairment entities J Am Geriatr Soc 49 7 2001 Jul 985–990.Google Scholar
Bassett, S.S.Folstein, M.F.Memory complaint, memory performance, and psychiatric diagnosis: a community study J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 6 2 1993 Apr 105–111.Google Scholar
Blazer, D.G.Hays, J.C.Fillenbaum, G.G.Gold, D.T.Memory complaint as a predictor of cognitive decline: a comparison of African American and White elders J Aging Health 9 2 1997 May 171–184.Google Scholar
Breteler, M.M.B.Cerebral white matter lesions, vascular risk factors, and cognitive function in a population-based study: The Rotterdam study Neurology 44 7 1994 Jul Jul-1252.Google Scholar
Chandler, J.D.Gerndt, J.Memory complaints and memory deficits in young and old psychiatric inpatients J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 1 2 1988 Apr 84–88.Google Scholar
Clarnette, R.M.Almeida, O.P.Forstl, H.Paton, A.Martins, R.N.Clinical characteristics of individuals with subjective memory loss in Western Australia: results from a cross-sectional survey Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 16 2 2001 Feb 168–174.Google Scholar
Commissaris, C.J.Ponds, R.W.Jolles, J.Subjective forgetfulness in a normal Dutch population: possibilities for health education and other interventions Patient Educ Couns 34 1 1998 May 25–32.Google Scholar
Copeland, J.R.Kelleher, M.J.Kellett, J.M.Gourlay, A.J.Gurland, B.J.Fleiss, J.L. et al A semi-structured clinical interview for the assessment of diagnosis and mental state in the elderly: the Geriatric Mental State Schedule. I. Development and reliability Psychol Med 6 3 1976 Aug 439–449.Google Scholar
Corey-Bloom, J.The ABC of Alzheimer's disease: cognitive changes and their management in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias Int Psychogeriatr 14 Suppl 1 2002 51–75.Google Scholar
Crook, T.H. IIIFeher, E.P.Larrabee, G.J.Assessment of memory complaint in age-associated memory impairment: the MAC-Q Int Psychogeriatr 4 2 1992 165–176.Google Scholar
Cutler, S.J.Grams, A.E.Correlates of self-reported everyday memory problems J Gerontol 43 3 1988 May S82–S90.Google Scholar
de Jager, C.A.Budge, M.M.Stability and predictability of the classification of mild cognitive impairment as assessed by episodic memory test performance over time Neurocase 11 1 2005 Feb 72–79.Google Scholar
Derouesne, C.Kalafat, M.Guez, D.Malbezin, M.Poitrenaud, J.Ali, C.A. et al The age-associated memory impairment construct revisited: comments and recommendations of French-speaking workgroup Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 9 7 1994 577–587.Google Scholar
Derouesne, C.Lacomblez, L.Thibault, S.LePoncin, M.Memory complaints in young and elderly subjects Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 14 4 1999 Apr 291–301.3.0.CO;2-7>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Estevez-Gonzalez, A.Kulisevsky, J.Boltes, A.Otermin, P.Garcia-Sanchez, C.Rey verbal learning test is a useful tool for differential diagnosis in the preclinical phase of Alzheimer's disease: comparison with mild cognitive impairment and normal aging Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 18 11 2003 Nov 1021–1028.Google Scholar
Feher, E.P.Larrabee, G.J.Sudilovsky, A.Crook, T.H. IIIMemory self-report in Alzheimer's disease and in age-associated memory impairment J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 7 1 1994 Jan 58–65.Google Scholar
Fischer, P.Gatterer, G.Marterer, A.Simanyi, M.Danielczyk, W.Course characteristics in the differentiation of dementia of the Alzheimer type and multi-infarct dementia Acta Psychiatr Scand 81 6 1990 Jun 551–553.Google Scholar
Flicker, C.Ferris, S.H.Reisberg, B.A longitudinal study of cognitive function in elderly persons with subjective memory complaints J Am Geriatr Soc 41 10 1993 Oct 1029–1032.Google Scholar
Ganguli, M.Dodge, H.H.Shen, C.DeKosky, S.T.Mild cognitive impairment, amnestic type: an epidemiologic study Neurology 63 1 2004 Jul 13 115–121.Google Scholar
Geerlings, M.I.Jonker, C.Bouter, L.M.Ader, H.J.Schmand, B.Association between memory complaints and incident Alzheimer's disease in elderly people with normal baseline cognition Am J Psychiatry 156 4 1999 Apr 531–537.Google Scholar
Grut, M.Jorm, A.F.Fratiglioni, L.Forsell, Y.Viitanen, M.Winblad, B.Memory complaints of elderly people in a population survey: variation according to dementia stage and depression J Am Geriatr Soc 41 12 1993 Dec 1295–1300.Google Scholar
Gurland, B.Golden, R.R.Teresi, J.A.Challop, J.The SHORT-CARE: an efficient instrument for the assessment of depression, dementia and disability J Gerontol 39 2 1984 Mar 166–169.Google Scholar
Hanninen, T.Hallikainen, M.Koivisto, K.Helkala, E.L.Reinikainen, K.J.Soininen, H. et al A follow-up study of age-associated memory impairment: neuropsychological predictors of dementia J Am Geriatr Soc 43 9 1995 Sep 1007–1015.Google Scholar
Hanninen, T.Reinikainen, K.J.Helkala, E.L.Koivisto, K.Mykkanen, L.Laakso, M. et al Subjective memory complaints and personality traits in normal elderly subjects J Am Geriatr Soc 42 1 1994 Jan 1–4.Google Scholar
Hardy, J.Selkoe, D.J.The amyloid hypothesis of Alzheimer's disease: progress and problems on the road to therapeutics Science 297 5580 2002 Jul 19 353–356.Google Scholar
Hebert, L.E.Scherr, P.A.Beckett, L.A.Albert, M.S.Pilgrim, D.M.Chown, M.J. et al Age-specific incidence of Alzheimer's disease in a community population JAMA 273 17 1995 May 3 1354–1359.Google Scholar
Heun, R.Hein, S.Risk factors of major depression in the elderly Eur Psychiatry 20 3 2005 May 199–204.Google Scholar
Heun, R.Kockler, M.Ptok, U.Subjective memory complaints of family members of patients with Alzheimer's disease and depression Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord 16 2 2003 78–83.Google Scholar
Heun, R.Kolsch, H.Jessen, F.Risk factors and early signs of Alzheimer's disease in a family study sample Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 256 1 2006 Feb 28–36.Google Scholar
Hong, T.B.Zarit, S.H.Johansson, B.Mild cognitive impairment in the oldest old: a comparison of two approaches Aging Ment Health 7 4 2003 Jul 271–276.Google Scholar
Hultsch, D.F.Hertzog, C.Dixon, R.A.Age differences in metamemory: resolving the inconsistencies Can J Psychiatry 41 1987 193–208.Google Scholar
Jennett, S.M.Lincoln, N.B.An evaluation of the effectiveness of group therapy for memory problems Int Disabil Stud 13 3 1991 Jul 83–86.Google Scholar
Jessen, F.Feyen, L.Freymann, K.Tepest, R.Maier, W.Heun, R. et al Volume reduction of the entorhinal cortex in subjective memory impairment Neurobiol Aging 27 2006 1751–1756.Google Scholar
Jonker, C.Launer, L.J.Hooijer, C.Lindeboom, J.Memory complaints and memory impairment in older individuals J Am Geriatr Soc 44 1 1996 Jan 44–49.Google Scholar
Jorm, A.F.Christensen, H.Korten, A.E.Henderson, A.S.Jacomb, P.A.Mackinnon, A.Do cognitive complaints either predict future cognitive decline or reflect past cognitive decline? A longitudinal study of an elderly community sample Psychol Med 27 1 1997 Jan 91–98.Google Scholar
Jorm, A.F.Christensen, H.Korten, A.E.Jacomb, P.A.Henderson, A.S.Memory complaints as a precursor of memory impairment in older people: a longitudinal analysis over 7–8 years Psychol Med 31 3 2001 Apr 441–449.Google Scholar
Jungwirth, S.Fischer, P.Weissgram, S.Kirchmeyr, W.Bauer, P.Tragl, K.H.Subjective memory complaints and objective memory impairment in the Vienna-Transdanube aging community J Am Geriatr Soc 52 2 2004 Feb 263–268.Google Scholar
Kim, J.M.Stewart, R.Shin, I.S.Choi, S.K.Yoon, J.S.Subjective memory impairment, cognitive function and depression—a community study in older Koreans Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord 15 4 2003 218–225.Google Scholar
Koivisto, K.Reinikainen, K.J.Hanninen, T.Vanhanen, M.Helkala, E.L.Mykkanen, L. et al Prevalence of age-associated memory impairment in a randomly selected population from eastern Finland Neurology 45 4 1995 Apr 741–747.Google Scholar
Lautenschlager, N.T.Flicker, L.Vasikaran, S.Leedman, P.Almeida, O.P.Subjective memory complaints with and without objective memory impairment: relationship with risk factors for dementia Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 13 8 2005 Aug 731–734.Google Scholar
Marri, L.Modugno, M.Iacono, S.Renzetti, C.De Vreese, L.P.Neri, M.Metamemory and self-perceived health in mild cognitive impairment Arch Gerontol Geriatr 7 Suppl 2001 235–244.Google Scholar
Mattos, P.Lino, V.Rizo, L.Alfano, A.Araujo, C.Raggio, R.Memory complaints and test performance in healthy elderly persons Arq Neuropsiquiatr 61 4 2003 Dec 920–924.Google Scholar
Meguro, K.Ishii, H.Yamaguchi, S.Ishizaki, J.Sato, M.Hashimoto, R. et al Prevalence and cognitive performances of clinical dementia rating 0.5 and mild cognitive impairment in Japan. The Tajiri project Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord 18 1 2004 Jan 3–10.Google Scholar
Petersen, R.C.Smith, G.E.Waring, S.C.Ivnik, R.J.Tangalos, E.G.Kokmen, E.Mild cognitive impairment: clinical characterization and outcome Arch Neurol 56 1999 Mar 303–308.Google Scholar
Ponds, R.W.Commissaris, K.J.Jolles, J.Prevalence and covariates of subjective forgetfulness in a normal population in The Netherlands Int J Aging Hum Dev 45 3 1997 207–221.Google Scholar
Ponds, R.W.Jolles, J.The Abridged Dutch Metamemory in Adulthood (MIA) Questionnaire: structure and effects of age, sex, and education Psychol Aging 11 2 1996 Jun 324–332.Google Scholar
Purser, J.L.Fillenbaum, G.G.Wallace, R.B.Memory complaint is not necessary for diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment and does not predict 10-year trajectories of functional disability, word recall, or short portable mental status questionnaire limitations J Am Geriatr Soc 54 2 2006 Feb 335–338.Google Scholar
Riedel-Heller, S.G.Matschinger, H.Schork, A.Angermeyer, M.C.Do memory complaints indicate the presence of cognitive impairment? Results of a field study Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 249 4 1999 197–204.Google Scholar
Roth, M.Tym, E.Mountjoy, C.Q.Huppert, F.A.Hendrie, H.Verma, S. et al CAMDEX. A standardised instrument for the diagnosis of mental disorder in the elderly with special reference to the early detection of dementia Br J Psychiatry 149 1986 Dec 698–709.Google Scholar
Schmand, B.Jonker, C.Geerlings, M.I.Lindeboom, J.Subjective memory complaints in the elderly: depressive symptoms and future dementia Br J Psychiatry 171 1997 Oct 373–376.Google Scholar
Schmand, B.Jonker, C.Hooijer, C.Lindeboom, J.Subjective memory complaints may announce dementia Neurology 46 1 1996 Jan 121–125.Google Scholar
Schofield, P.W.Marder, K.Dooneief, G.Jacobs, D.M.Sano, M.Stern, Y.Association of subjective memory complaints with subsequent cognitive decline in community-dwelling elderly individuals with baseline cognitive impairment Am J Psychiatry 154 5 1997 May 609–615.Google Scholar
Small, G.W.Chen, S.T.Komo, S.Ercoli, L.Bookheimer, S.Miller, K. et al Memory self-appraisal in middle-aged and older adults with the apolipoprotein E-4 allele Am J Psychiatry 156 7 1999 Jul 1035–1038.Google Scholar
Small, G.W.Chen, S.T.Komo, S.Ercoli, L.Miller, K.Siddarth, P. et al Memory self-appraisal and depressive symptoms in people at genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 16 11 2001 Nov 1071–1077.Google Scholar
Smith, G.E.Petersen, R.C.Ivnik, R.J.Malec, J.F.Tangalos, E.G.Subjective memory complaints, psychological distress, and longitudinal change in objective memory performance Psychol Aging 11 2 1996 Jun 272–279.Google Scholar
St John, P.Montgomery, P.Are cognitively intact seniors with subjective memory loss more likely to develop dementia? Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 17 9 2002 Sep 814–820.Google Scholar
St John, P.Montgomery, P.Is subjective memory loss correlated with MMSE scores or dementia? J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 16 2 2003 Jun 80–83.Google Scholar
Stewart, R.Russ, C.Richards, M.Brayne, C.Lovestone, S.MannDepression, A.APOE genotype and subjective memory impairment: a cross-sectional study in an African-Caribbean population Psychol Med 31 3 2001 Apr 431–440.Google Scholar
Tobiansky, R.Blizard, R.Livingston, G.Mann, A.The Gospel Oak Study stage IV: the clinical relevance of subjective memory impairment in older people Psychol Med 25 4 1995 Jul 779–786.Google Scholar
Treves, T.A.Verchovsky, R.Klimovitzky, S.Korczyn, A.D.Incidence of dementia in patients with subjective memory complaints Int Psychogeriatr 17 2 2005 Jun 265–273.Google Scholar
van der Flier, W.M.van Buchem, M.A.Weverling-Rijnsburger, A.W.Mutsaers, E.R.Bollen, E.L.Admiraal-Behloul, F. et al Memory complaints in patients with normal cognition are associated with smaller hippocampal volumes J Neurol 251 6 2004 Jun 671–675.Google Scholar
Wang, L.van Belle, G.Crane, P.K.Kukull, W.A.Bowen, J.D.McCormick, W.C. et al Subjective memory deterioration and future dementia in people aged 65 and older J Am Geriatr Soc 52 12 2004 Dec 2045–2051.Google Scholar
Wang, P.N.Wang, S.J.Fuh, J.L.Teng, E.L.Liu, C.Y.Lin, C.H. et al Subjective memory complaint in relation to cognitive performance and depression: a longitudinal study of a rural Chinese population J Am Geriatr Soc 48 3 2000 Mar 295–299.Google Scholar
Winblad, B.Palmer, K.Kivipelto, M.Jelic, V.Fratiglioni, L.Wahlund, L.O. et al Mild cognitive impairment—beyond controversies, towards a consensus: report of the International Working Group on Mild Cognitive Impairment J Intern Med 256 3 2004 Sep 240–246.Google Scholar
Zandi, T.Relationship between subjective memory complaints, objective memory performance, and depression among older adults Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen 19 6 2004 Nov 353–360.Google Scholar
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.