Sex differences on a digitally‐administered cognitive assessment battery in adults at‐risk for development of Alzheimer’s disease.

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundSex differences in cognition have been well‐established among both healthy individuals and various clinical populations, including patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Specifically, females with AD experience greater cognitive impairment than men. However, cognitive sex differences among a population at‐risk for AD have not been elucidated. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine sex differences among at‐risk individuals using a digital cognitive assessment battery.MethodData collected are part of the ongoing Digital Cognitive Multi‐domain Alzheimer’s Risk Velocity Study investigating the effects of a 2‐year digital lifestyle intervention on individuals at‐risk for developing AD. Risk factors were determined via the Australian National University‐Alzheimer’s Disease Risk Index (ANU‐ADRI); two positive risk factors for AD (e.g.: history of diabetes, smoking, and/or traumatic brain injury) and no more than one protective factor (e.g.: high level of physical activity) were required for participation. Participants (age 45–75) completed six digital assessments measuring executive function, inhibition, processing speed, attention, associative learning, and associative memory. Independent sample t‐tests were used to analyze group differences (female vs male) in cognitive performance.ResultA significant difference between sexes exists for associative memory. Specifically, females had greater accuracy in recognizing previously presented images as compared to their male counterparts (Females = 0.3691 + 0.1072; Males = 0.3186 + 0.1115; p = .007; Cohen’s d = .465). While males and females did not differ in their time spent gazing at the novel image, females demonstrated a significantly better accuracy at identifying which image pairs they had seen previously compared to their male counterparts (Females = 0.3691 + 0.1072; Males = 0.3186 + 0.1115; p = .007; Cohen’s d = .465). No other differences in cognitive performance were observed.ConclusionThis study demonstrates that at‐risk women demonstrate a more accurate behavioral response during an associative memory task than their male counterparts. These results are counter to evidence suggesting females with AD experience greater cognitive impairment, indicating that other factors should be considered to understand the process of dementia‐related cognitive decline and cognitive impairment differences between sexes among patients with AD.