Self-Experienced Cognitive Function in the Digital Era: Are Older Adults at Risk of Subjective Cognitive Decline?

Abstract Older adults often find it difficult to use everyday technology proficiently. We hypothesized that these difficulties would be exacerbated in those with subjective cognitive decline (SCD), that is, self-perceived worsening of cognitive functions that has been associated with increased risk of future dementia. Here we investigated the relationship between SCD symptom burden and technology proficiency. A nation-wide sample of adults (N=483) ages 50-79 (66.5% female; 14.5% age >70) completed an online survey via a crowdsourcing website, Amazon Mechanical Turk. The survey included the Subjective Cognitive Decline Questionnaire (SCD-Q MyCog) (0-25, M=4.71, SD=5.77), questions about respondents’ proficiency with computer, smartphone, and tablet (4-12, M=9.72, SD=1.97), and the PROMIS depression (M=13.18, SD=6.32) and anxiety (M=13.04, SD=5.68) scales. Linear regression was used to examine the ability of technology proficiency to predict SCD score. We also probed the interaction of technology proficiency with age (<70 vs. >70 years), and adjusted for covariates. We found that the age/technology interaction (B=-0.80), older age (B=7.49), lower education (B=-1.08), higher depression (B=0.20) and anxiety (B=0.16) symptoms predicted higher SCD burden (R-squared=.16). For respondents >70 years low technology proficiency predicted high SCD burden (B=-.79) whereas for those <70 years no relationship was found. Our study draws attention to older adults’ self-experienced cognitive function in the digital era. The association between low technology proficiency and SCD may signal the adverse impact of the digital era on those who experienced technology only later in life. It is equally possible that declining technology proficiency is an indicator of emerging neurodegenerative disease.

Download Full-text

Likelihood of Participation in Home-Based Cognitive Assessment: The Role of Subjective Cognitive Decline and Age

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.940 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 293-294

Author(s):

Moriah Splonskowski ◽

Holly Cooke ◽

Claudia Jacova

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Cognitive Decline ◽

Old Age ◽

Cognitive Assessment ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Subjective Cognitive Decline ◽

Cognitive State ◽

Home Based ◽

Increased Risk

Abstract Home-based cognitive assessment (HBCA) services are emerging as a convenient alternative to in-clinic cognitive assessment and may aid in mitigating barriers to detecting cognitive impairment (CI). It is unknown which older adults would be likely to participate in HBCA. Here we investigated the role of age and Subjective Cognitive Decline (SCD). SCD has demonstrated an increased risk for progression to CI/dementia. A nation-wide community-dwelling sample of 494 adults age 50+ were recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk to complete an online survey assessing perceptions around HBCA and SCD. Our sample was 91.9% White and 66.8% female. It consisted of 174 respondents aged 50-60, 265 aged 61- 70, and 55 aged 71-79. Age groups were comparable with respect to their acceptance of cognitive assessment (Range 4-20, higher score=higher acceptance, 7.9±3.3, 8.15±3.2, 8.05±3.43) and SCD-Q total (43.1±5.8, 43.2±5.7, 43.3±5.7). Correlation analysis revealed a relationship between SCD-QSCD total and perceived likelihood of participation in HBCA for those ages 61-70 (r(263) = .222 p = .000), but not for ages 50-60 or 71-79 (r(172) = .102 p = .152; r(53) = -.102 p = .458). Our findings suggest that SCD influences the likelihood of participation in HBCA for older adults’ transitioning to old age (61-70). Findings show that for adults transitioning into old age (61-70), perceived cognitive state influences their likelihood of participation in HBCA. Importantly, concerns about CI/dementia may generate more favorable perceptions of HBCA for this group.

Download Full-text

Decision letter for "The factors associated with subjective cognitive decline and cognitive function among older adults"

10.1111/jan.14261/v2/decision1 ◽

2019 ◽

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Cognitive Function ◽

Cognitive Decline ◽

Subjective Cognitive Decline ◽

Factors Associated

Download Full-text

The Relationship between Subjective Cognitive Decline and Health Literacy in Healthy Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Healthcare ◽

10.3390/healthcare8040567 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 567

Author(s):

Akio Goda ◽

Shin Murata ◽

Hideki Nakano ◽

Koji Nonaka ◽

Hiroaki Iwase ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Cognitive Function ◽

Cognitive Decline ◽

Depression Scale ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Subjective Cognitive Decline ◽

Healthy Community ◽

Community Dwelling Older Adults ◽

The Relationship

Few studies have examined the effects of health literacy on people at risk of developing dementia; its effects on the pathogenesis of subjective cognitive decline (SCD) are particularly unclear. This study aimed to clarify the relationship between health literacy and SCD in a population of healthy community-dwelling older adults. SCD status was assessed using the Cognitive Function domain of the Kihon Checklist (KCL-CF). Health literacy, in turn, was evaluated using the Communicative and Critical Health Literacy (CCHL) scale. Global cognitive function and depressive symptoms were evaluated using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and a five-item version of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-5), respectively. Participants who were suspected of having SCD were significantly older than their non-SCD peers, and scored significantly worse on the CCHL, MMSE, and GDS-5. In addition, SCD status was found to be associated with CCHL and GDS-5 scores, as well as age, according to a logistic regression analysis. These findings suggest that low health literacy is linked to SCD morbidity in healthy community-dwelling older adults and should prove useful in the planning of dementia prevention and intervention programs for this population.

Download Full-text

Repetitive Negative Thinking is associated with Subjective Cognitive Decline in older adults: a cross-sectional study

10.21203/rs.3.rs-20672/v2 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Marco Schlosser ◽

Harriet Demnitz-King ◽

Tim Whitfield ◽

Miranka Wirth ◽

Natalie L. Marchant

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Cognitive Function ◽

Cognitive Decline ◽

Subjective Cognitive Decline ◽

Repetitive Negative Thinking ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Negative Thinking ◽

Memory Complaints ◽

Dementia Risk ◽

Perceived Cognitive Function

Abstract Background: In the absence of a cure or effective treatment for dementia, attention has shifted towards identifying risk factors for prevention. Subjective Cognitive Decline (SCD) describes self-perceived worsening of cognition despite unimpaired performance on neuropsychological tests. SCD has been associated with an increased dementia risk and steeper memory decline. Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is a transdiagnostic process that manifests across several mental health disorders associated with increased vulnerability to dementia. RNT has thus been proposed as a candidate marker of risk for dementia and, relatedly, could contribute to the manifestation of SCD. We aimed to investigate the relationship between SCD and RNT alongside other proposed psychological risk/protective factors for dementia and cognitive decline. Methods: In a cross-sectional online survey, 491 older adults (mean=64.9 years, SD=4.2; 63.1% female) completed measures of RNT, personality traits, purpose in life, worry, rumination, and meditation practice. SCD was assessed continuously via self-perceived cognitive function (Neuro-QoL) and categorically via endorsement (yes/no) of memory complaints. Regression models, using a stepwise backwards elimination, were built to assess associations between SCD, demographics, and all risk/protective factors.Results: A total of 24.2% of participants reported memory complaints. In the final prediction models, RNT was the only psychological variable associated with lower self-perceived cognitive function and with a higher likelihood of memory complaints. Conclusions: This study empirically corroborates the theoretical relationship between SCD and RNT. Longitudinal studies are needed to establish whether RNT is a prodromal symptom or an independent risk factor, and whether RNT can be a promising construct for future research on SCD and dementia risk.

Download Full-text

Decision letter for "The factors associated with subjective cognitive decline and cognitive function among older adults"

10.1111/jan.14261/v1/decision1 ◽

2019 ◽

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Cognitive Function ◽

Cognitive Decline ◽

Subjective Cognitive Decline ◽

Factors Associated

Download Full-text

Repetitive negative thinking is associated with subjective cognitive decline in older adults: a cross-sectional study

BMC Psychiatry ◽

10.1186/s12888-020-02884-7 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Marco Schlosser ◽

Harriet Demnitz-King ◽

Tim Whitfield ◽

Miranka Wirth ◽

Natalie L. Marchant

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Cognitive Function ◽

Cognitive Decline ◽

Subjective Cognitive Decline ◽

Repetitive Negative Thinking ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Negative Thinking ◽

Memory Complaints ◽

Dementia Risk ◽

Perceived Cognitive Function

Abstract Background In the absence of a cure or effective treatment for dementia, attention has shifted towards identifying risk factors for prevention. Subjective Cognitive Decline (SCD) describes self-perceived worsening of cognition despite unimpaired performance on neuropsychological tests. SCD has been associated with an increased dementia risk and steeper memory decline. Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is a transdiagnostic process that manifests across several mental health disorders associated with increased vulnerability to dementia. RNT has thus been proposed as a candidate marker of risk for dementia and, relatedly, could contribute to the manifestation of SCD. We aimed to investigate the relationship between SCD and RNT alongside other proposed psychological risk/protective factors for dementia and cognitive decline. Methods In a cross-sectional online survey, 491 older adults (mean = 64.9 years, SD = 4.2; 63.1% female) completed measures of RNT, personality traits, purpose in life, worry, rumination, and meditation practice. SCD was assessed continuously via self-perceived cognitive function (Neuro-QoL) and categorically via endorsement (yes/no) of memory complaints. Regression models, using a stepwise backwards elimination, were built to assess associations between SCD, demographics, and all risk/protective factors. Results A total of 24.2% of participants reported memory complaints. In the final prediction models, RNT was the only psychological variable associated with lower self-perceived cognitive function and with a higher likelihood of memory complaints. Conclusions This study empirically corroborates the theoretical relationship between SCD and RNT. Longitudinal studies are needed to establish whether RNT is a prodromal symptom or an independent risk factor, and whether RNT can be a promising construct for future research on SCD and dementia risk.

Download Full-text

A-033 Subjective Cognitive Decline Symptom Burden Predicts Acceptance of Cognitive Assessment

Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology ◽

10.1093/arclin/acaa068.033 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 35 (6) ◽

pp. 823-823

Author(s):

Splonskowski M ◽

Jacova C

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Decline ◽

Cognitive Assessment ◽

Online Survey ◽

Outcome Measurement ◽

Amazon Mechanical Turk ◽

Subjective Cognitive Decline ◽

Measurement Information ◽

Depression Symptoms ◽

Depression And Anxiety ◽

Patient Reported

Abstract Objective Individuals endorsing subjective cognitive decline (SCD) are at risk for dementia, likely to endorse depression and anxiety but often don’t seek cognitive assessment. Here we examined the relationship between SCD and acceptance of cognitive assessment. Method A nation-wide sample of 483 adults age 50 and older completed an online survey via the crowdsourcing website, Amazon Mechanical Turk. The SCD-MyCog Questionnaire was used to calculate total SCD score and determine SCD and non-SCD groups (>7/24 = SCD). Items from The Perceptions Regarding Investigational Screening for Memory in Primary Care were summed to create total Assessment Acceptance. Anxiety and depressive symptoms were measured using Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System scales. Results A hierarchical regression showed SCD total score adding to the prediction of assessment acceptance (R2 change = 8.5%). Once age (R2 change = 0.2%), and depression and anxiety (R2 change = 0.5%) were entered in steps 1 and 2. Step 3 coefficients were − .016, −.047, .019, and .18. The SCD group had an overall acceptance score > 1 SD higher than non-SCD (17.4 ± 2.32 and 15.46 ± 3.46). Conclusion SCD endorsed more acceptance even when anxiety and depression symptoms were accounted for. This finding is at odds with reduced help-seeking behavior among SCD. Further research is warranted to understand the specific barriers to seeking assessment among SCD.

Download Full-text