A-015 Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms are Associated with Reduced Performance on the MoCA among Vietnam Veterans
Abstract Objective To examine cross-sectional associations between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity, number of stressors experienced, and cognitive outcomes in Vietnam War veterans. Methods 366 adults between the ages of 60–85 years old completed a Vietnam Veterans Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative Project (ADNI-DoD) visit consisting of a clinical interview and neuropsychological assessment. Number of stressful experiences were measured with the Life Stressor Checklist-Revised (LSC-R). Severity scores were assessed via the current Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS). Correlations were conducted between selected measures of stress and age, years of education, sex, ethnicity, and race. Demographic variables with significant associations with stress were included as covariates in the hierarchical regressions. Hierarchical linear regressions were conducted to examine the effect of CAPS and LSC-R on baseline Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores. Results Higher CAPS scores (indicating higher PTSD severity) were associated with worse cognitive outcomes on the MoCA [ΔF(1,269) = 15.058, p < 0.001, R2 = 0.116]. By contrast, number of stressful experiences was not associated with cognitive outcomes. Follow up analyses indicated that CAPS severity scores were significantly associated with the memory index and the attention index of the MoCA. Conclusions In a sample of older veterans, PTSD symptom severity was associated with worse performance on the MoCA. Moreover, further analyses indicated that results within the memory and attention domains are driving these results. As such, treating PTSD symptoms may be helpful in maintaining cognitive function as adults age.