Abstract
Objective: To determine whether subjective memory complaints (SMCs) are associated with performance on objective cognitive measures and psychological factors in healthy, community-dwelling older adults. Method: The cohort was composed of adults, 65 years and older with no clinical evidence of cognitive impairment (n = 125). Participants were administered: CogState computerized neurocognitive battery, Prospective RetrospectiveMemory Questionnaire, personality andmeaning-in-lifemeasures. Results: SMCs were associated with poorer performance on measures of executive function (p = 0.001). SMCs were also associated with impaired delayed recall (p=0.006) but this did not remain significant after statistical adjustment for multiple comparisons. SMCs were inversely associated with conscientiousness (p = 0.004) and directly associated with neuroticism (p ≤ 0.001). Higher scores on SMCs were associated with higher perceived stress (p = 0.001), and ineffective coping styles (p = 0.001). Factors contributing to meaning-in-life were associated with fewer SMCs (p ≤ 0.05). Conclusions: SMCs may reflect early, subtle cognitive changes and are associated with personality traits and meaning-in-life in healthy, older adults.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 776-783 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and other Dementias |
Volume | 28 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 2013 |
Externally published | Yes |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- General Neuroscience
- Clinical Psychology
- Geriatrics and Gerontology
- Psychiatry and Mental health