Anxiety symptoms, cerebral amyloid burden and memory decline in healthy older adults without dementia: 3-year prospective cohort study

SummaryAlthough beta-amyloid, anxiety and depression have been linked cross-sectionally to reduced memory function in healthy older adults without dementia, prospective data evaluating these associations are lacking. Using data from an observational cohort study of 178 healthy older adults without dementia followed for 3 years, we found that anxiety symptoms significantly moderated the relationship between beta-amyloid level and decline in verbal (Cohen's d = 0.65) and episodic (Cohen's d = 0.38) memory. Anxiety symptoms were additionally linked to greater decline in executive function, irrespective of beta-amyloid and other risk factors. These findings suggest that interventions to mitigate anxiety symptoms may help delay memory decline in otherwise healthy older adults with elevated beta-amyloid.

Download Full-text

The relationship of functional hippocampal activity, amyloid deposition, and longitudinal memory decline to memory complaints in cognitively healthy older adults

Neurobiology of Aging ◽

10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2021.04.020 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Xi Chen ◽

Michelle E. Farrell ◽

Melissa M. Rundle ◽

Micaela Y. Chan ◽

William Moore ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Amyloid Deposition ◽

Memory Decline ◽

Healthy Older Adults ◽

Memory Complaints ◽

Hippocampal Activity ◽

Relationship Of ◽

The Relationship

Download Full-text

The association of Aβ amyloid and composite cognitive measures in healthy older adults and MCI

International Psychogeriatrics ◽

10.1017/s1041610213001087 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 25 (10) ◽

pp. 1667-1677 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Karra D. Harrington ◽

Yen Ying Lim ◽

Kathryn A. Ellis ◽

Carly Copolov ◽

David Darby ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Neuropsychological Test ◽

Underlying Disease ◽

Imaging Biomarkers ◽

Cognitive Measures ◽

Healthy Older Adults ◽

Aβ Amyloid ◽

Using Data ◽

The Relationship ◽

With Memory

ABSTRACTBackground:To date evidence of the relationship between cognition and Aβ amyloid during the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) has been inconsistent. This study aimed to describe the nature and magnitude of the relationship between Aβ amyloid and cognitive performance of individuals without dementia.Methods:Composite cognitive measures were developed from the Australian Imaging Biomarkers and Lifestyle study neuropsychological test battery using data from 768 healthy older adults and 133 adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). A subgroup of this sample (174 healthy, 53 MCI) underwent neuroimaging for Aβ amyloid.Results:Within the MCI group individuals with high Aβ amyloid showed selective impairment for memory compared with those with low Aβ amyloid; however, this difference was not evident in the healthy group.Conclusions:The current findings provide further evidence of the relationship between Aβ amyloid and cognition, with memory impairment being the primary symptom of the underlying disease during the prodromal phases of AD.

Download Full-text

Semantic integration declines independently of working memory in aging

Applied Psycholinguistics ◽

10.1017/s0142716419000341 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 40 (6) ◽

pp. 1481-1494

Author(s):

Zude Zhu ◽

Suiping Wang ◽

Nannan Xu ◽

Mengya Li ◽

Yiming Yang

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Working Memory ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Semantic Integration ◽

N400 Effect ◽

Younger Adults ◽

Memory Decline ◽

Healthy Older Adults ◽

Related Potentials ◽

The Relationship

AbstractSemantic integration and working memory both decline with age. However, it remains unclear whether the semantic integration decline is independent of working memory decline or whether it can be solely explained by the latter factor. In this event-related potentials experiment, 43 younger adults and 43 cognitively healthy older adults read semantically congruent and incongruent sentences. After controlling for working memory, behavioral accuracy was significantly lower in the older adults than in the younger adults. In addition, the semantic integration related N400 effect (incongruent vs. congruent) for correct trials was apparent in the whole brain in the younger adults but restricted to the posterior region in the older adults. The results clarify the relationship between working memory and semantic integration, and clearly demonstrate that semantic integration decline is independent of working memory decline during aging.

Download Full-text

Neural correlates of agitation mediate the relationship between severity of depressive symptoms and memory function in healthy older adults

Alzheimer s & Dementia ◽

10.1002/alz.050976 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 17 (S6) ◽

Author(s):

Hajeong Park ◽

Hyeyoung Park ◽

Jeanyung Chey

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Memory Function ◽

Neural Correlates ◽

Healthy Older Adults ◽

The Relationship

Download Full-text

Normative Data for a Tablet-Based Dual-Task Assessment in Healthy Older Adults

Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology ◽

10.1093/arclin/acaa121 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Maxime Lussier ◽

Kathia Saillant ◽

Tudor Vrinceanu ◽

Carol Hudon ◽

Louis Bherer

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Dual Task ◽

Normative Data ◽

Healthy Older Adults ◽

Highly Educated ◽

Coefficient Of Variability ◽

French And English ◽

Task Assessment ◽

English Speaking ◽

The Relationship

Abstract Objective The objective of this study is to provide normative data for a tablet-based dual-task assessment in older adults without cognitive deficits. Method In total, 264 participants aged between 60 and 90 years, French and English-speaking, were asked to perform two discrimination tasks, alone and concurrently. The participants had to answer as fast as possible to one or two images appearing in the center of the tablet by pressing to the corresponding buttons. Normative data are provided for reaction time (RT), coefficient of variation, and accuracy. Analyses of variance were performed by trial types (single-pure, single-mixed, dual-mixed), and linear regressions assessed the relationship between performance and sociodemographic characteristics. Results The participants were highly educated and a large proportion of them were women (73.9%). The accuracy on the task was very high across all blocks. RT data revealed both a task-set cost and a dual-task cost between the blocks. Age was associated with slower RT and with higher coefficient of variability. Men were significantly slower on dual-mixed trials, but their coefficient of variability was lower on single-pure trials. Education was not associated with performance. Conclusions This study provides normative data for a tablet-based dual-task assessment in older adults without cognitive impairment, which was lacking. All participants completed the task with good accuracy in less than 15 minutes and thus, the task is transferable to clinical and research settings.

Download Full-text

Prospective Associations of Physical Frailty With Future Falls and Fear of Falling: A 48-Month Cohort Study

Physical Therapy ◽

10.1093/ptj/pzab059 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

K Makino ◽

S Lee ◽

S Bae ◽

I Chiba ◽

K Harada ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Fear Of Falling ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Cardiovascular Health Study ◽

Physical Frailty ◽

Frailty Status ◽

Community Dwelling Older Adults ◽

The Relationship

Abstract Objective The present study aimed to examine the prospective associations of physical frailty with future falls and fear of falling (FOF) among community-dwelling older adults. Methods A prospective cohort study with a 48-month follow-up was conducted in a Japanese community. Participants were 2469 community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years or older who completed baseline and follow-up assessments at intervals of 48±2 months. Primary outcomes were recent falls (defined as at least one fall within the past year) and FOF (determined by response to “Are you afraid of falling?”) at follow-up survey. Physical frailty, operationalized by the frailty phenotype (slowness, weakness, exhaustion, weight loss, and low activity) based on the criteria of the Japanese version of the Cardiovascular Health Study (J-CHS), was also assessed as a predictor of future falls and FOF. Results Multivariate logistic regression showed that pre-frailty or frailty increase the risk of not only future falls (OR: 1.57; 95%CI = 1.20-2.05) but also FOF (OR: 1.33; 95%CI = 1.05-1.69). In addition, the relationship between baseline frailty status and future falls remained significant after adjusting for baseline FOF (OR: 1.55; 95%CI = 1.19-2.02), and the relationship between baseline frailty status and future FOF also remained significant after adjusting for baseline falls (OR: 1.32; 95%CI = 1.04-1.68). Conclusions Frailty status may predict future falls and FOF among community-dwelling older adults. Strategies to prevent frailty may be beneficial to prevent not only future falls but also future FOF in a community setting. Impact Falls and FOF have a close relationship but a different clinical meaning. Older adults with physical frailty may require monitoring as high-risk not only for falls but also for FOF.

Download Full-text

Cannulation technique and complications in arteriovenous fistulas: a Swedish Renal Registry-based cohort study

BMC Nephrology ◽

10.1186/s12882-021-02458-z ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Karin Staaf ◽

Anders Fernström ◽

Fredrik Uhlin

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Lower Risk ◽

Rate Ratio ◽

Incidence Rate Ratio ◽

National Registry ◽

The Other ◽

Arteriovenous Fistulas ◽

Cannulation Technique ◽

Using Data ◽

The Relationship

Abstract Background The four cannulation techniques, rope ladder (RL), area puncture (AP), buttonhole with blunt needles (BHb), and buttonhole with sharp needles (BHs), affects the arteriovenous fistula (AVF) in different ways. The aim of this study was to describe the relationship between the different cannulation techniques and the occurrence of AVF complications. Methods The study was performed as a national registry-based cohort study using data from the Swedish Renal Registry (SRR). Data were collected from January 2014 to October 2019. Seventy of Sweden’s dialysis units participate in the registry. We analyzed a total of 1328 AVFs in this study. The risk of complications was compared between the four different cannulation techniques. The risk of AVF complications was measured by the incidence and incidence rate ratio (IRR). We compared the IRRs of complications between different cannulation techniques. Results BHs is the most common cannulation technique in Sweden. It has been used in 55% of the AVFs at some point during their functional patency. BHb (29%), RL (13%), and AP (3%) has been used less. BHb had the lowest risk of complications compared to the other techniques, and a significantly lower risk of stenosis, infiltration, cannulation difficulties, compared to RL and BHs. Cannulation difficulties were significantly more common using AP compared to BHs, and BHb. Infections were not significantly increased using the buttonhole technique. Conclusions BHb had the lowest risk of complications. Infections were not significantly increased using the buttonhole technique. Dialysis units with a low infection rate may continue to use the buttonhole technique, as the risk of complications is lower.

Download Full-text

Sex moderations in the relationship between aortic stiffness, cognition, and cerebrovascular reactivity in healthy older adults

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0257815 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (9) ◽

pp. e0257815

Author(s):

Dalia Sabra ◽

Brittany Intzandt ◽

Laurence Desjardins-Crepeau ◽

Antoine Langeard ◽

Christopher J. Steele ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Vascular Diseases ◽

Aortic Pulse Wave Velocity ◽

Cerebrovascular Reactivity ◽

Neuropsychological Battery ◽

Healthy Older Adults ◽

Moderation Model ◽

Continuous Arterial Spin Labeling ◽

Cine Phase Contrast ◽

The Relationship

It is well established that sex differences exist in the manifestation of vascular diseases. Arterial stiffness (AS) has been associated with changes in cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) and cognitive decline in aging. Specifically, older adults with increased AS show a decline on executive function (EF) tasks. Interestingly, the relationship between AS and CVR is more complex, where some studies show decreased CVR with increased AS, and others demonstrate preserved CVR despite higher AS. Here, we investigated the possible role of sex on these hemodynamic relationships. Acquisitions were completed in 48 older adults. Pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (pCASL) data were collected during a hypercapnia challenge. Aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) data was acquired using cine phase contrast velocity series. Cognitive function was assessed with a comprehensive neuropsychological battery, and a composite score for EF was calculated using four cognitive tests from the neuropsychological battery. A moderation model test revealed that sex moderated the relationship between PWV and CVR and PWV and EF, but not between CVR and EF. Together, our results indicate that the relationships between central stiffness, cerebral hemodynamics and cognition are in part mediated by sex.

Download Full-text