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Longitudinal Assessment of Self- and Informant-Subjective Cognitive Complaints in a Sample of Healthy Late-Middle Aged Adults Enriched with a Family History of Alzheimer’s Disease

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 July 2017

Christopher R. Nicholas
Affiliation:
Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Wm. S. Middleton Veterans Hospital, Madison, Wisconsin Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin
N. Maritza Dowling
Affiliation:
Department of Biostatistics & Research, School of Nursing, George Washington University, Washington, DC
Annie M. Racine
Affiliation:
Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin
Lindsay R. Clark
Affiliation:
Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Wm. S. Middleton Veterans Hospital, Madison, Wisconsin Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin
Sara E. Berman
Affiliation:
Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin
Rebecca L. Koscik
Affiliation:
Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin
Sanjay Asthana
Affiliation:
Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Wm. S. Middleton Veterans Hospital, Madison, Wisconsin Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin
Bruce Hermann
Affiliation:
Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin Department of Neurology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin
Mark A. Sager
Affiliation:
Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin
Sterling C. Johnson*
Affiliation:
Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Wm. S. Middleton Veterans Hospital, Madison, Wisconsin Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Sterling C. Johnson, J5/1M, Clinical Science Center, 600 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53792. E-mail: scj@medicine.wisc.edu

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the longitudinal trajectory of self- and informant-subjective cognitive complaints (SCC), and to determine if SCC predict longitudinal changes in objective measures (OM) of cognitive function. Methods: The study included healthy and cognitively normal late middle-aged adults enriched with a family history of AD who were evaluated at up to three visits over a 4-year period. At each visit (Visit 1–3), self- and informant-SCC and OM were evaluated. Linear mixed models were used to determine if the longitudinal rate of change of self- and informant-SCC were associated with demographic variables, depressive symptoms, family history (FH), and apolipoprotein epsilon 4 (APOE4) status. The same modeling approach was used to examine the effect of Visit 1 SCC on longitudinal cognitive change after controlling for the same variables. Results: At Visit 1, more self-SCC were associated with fewer years of education and more depressive symptoms. SCC were also associated with poorer performance on cognitive measures, such that more self-SCC at Visit 1 were associated with poorer performance on memory and executive functioning measures at Visit 1, while more informant-SCC were associated with faster rate of longitudinal decline on a measure of episodic learning and memory. FH and APOE4 status were not associated with SCC. Discussion: Self- and informant-SCC showed an association with OM, albeit over different time frames in our late middle-aged sample. Additional longitudinal follow-up will likely assist in further clarifying these relationships as our sample ages and more pronounced cognitive changes eventually emerge. (JINS, 2017, 23, 617–626)

Type
Research Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2017 

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