Self and Informant Memory Reports in FINGER: Associations with Two-Year Cognitive Change

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Vaskivuo, Laura^{a; b; *} | Hokkanen, Laura^b | Hänninen, Tuomo^c | Antikainen, Riitta^{d; e} | Bäckman, Lars^f | Laatikainen, Tiina^{a; g; h} | Paajanen, Teemuⁱ | Stigsdotter-Neely, Anna^j | Strandberg, Timo^{d; k} | Tuomilehto, Jaakko^{a; l; m} | Soininen, Hilkka^{c; n} | Kivipelto, Miia^{a; f; n; o} | Ngandu, Tiia^{a; o}

Affiliations: [a] Public Health Promotion Unit, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland | [b] Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland | [c] Neurocenter/ Neurology, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland | [d] University of Oulu, Center for Life Course Health Research, Oulu, Finland | [e] Medical Research Center Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and Oulu City Hospital, Oulu, Finland | [f] Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institutet-Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden | [g] Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland | [h] Hospital District of North Karelia, Joensuu, Finland | [i] Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland | [j] Department of Psychology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden and Department of Social and Psychological Sciences, Karlstad University, Karlstad, Sweden | [k] University of Helsinki, Clinicum, and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland | [l] South Ostrobothnia Central Hospital, Seinäjoki, Finland and Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland | [m] Dasman Diabetes Institute, Kuwait City, Kuwait, Danube University Kerms, Krems, Austria and Kind Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | [n] Institute of Clinical Medicine/Neurology, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland | [o] Karolinska Institutet Center for Alzheimer Research, Stockholm, Sweden

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Laura Vaskivuo, Public Health Promotion Unit, National Institute for Health and Welfare, P.O. Box 30, 00271 Helsinki, Finland. Tel.: +358 29 5247716; E-mail: [email protected].

Abstract: Background:Subjective memory complaints (SMCs) may be the first sign of cognitive decline in aging. Objective:To examine whether SMCs reported by oneself and informant predict cognitive change over 2 years among at-risk elderly people, and to determine the relationship of different types of SMCs (prospective and retrospective memory complaints) and change in cognitive function. Methods:This investigation is part of the FINGER project, which is a multicenter randomized controlled trial aiming at preventing cognitive decline in cognitively healthy older adults with increased risk of dementia. A subsample of 303 control-group participants (aged 60–80 years) and their informants (n = 261) rated the frequency of SMCs, using the Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ). Cognitive performance was measured at baseline and at 1- and 2-year follow-up visits using a neuropsychological test battery. Results:Participants who reported more SMCs improved less in global cognition, executive function, and memory during the subsequent 2 years in the fully-adjusted analyses. Self-reported retrospective memory problems predicted less improvement in all cognitive domains, whereas prospective memory problems did not. Informant-reported memory problems were not linked to subsequent change in cognition. Conclusion:Our results indicate that self-reported SMCs, measured with PRMQ, predict future cognitive change in several cognitive domains. By contrast, reports by informants were not linked to changes in cognition. Among cognitively healthy at-risk elderly individuals, the persons themselves observe more easily problems relevant for their future cognitive trajectories than their informants.

Keywords: Aging, cognition, dementia, memory

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-190133

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 71, no. 3, pp. 785-795, 2019