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

Abstract

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.