THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SUBJECTIVE MEMORY COMPLAINTS AND AFFECTIVE SYMPTOMS IN MEXICAN AMERICANS WITH MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT

Abstract

Subjective memory complaints (SMC) are common in older adults. Adults with SMC may be at risk for developing cognitive impairment. SMC can be found in older adults that are normal and those that have mild cognitive impairment (MCI). SMC had been found to be related to affective symptoms. This study examined emotional measures in older Mexican Americans (MA) who were normal or had MCI. A subgroup of MA participants N=559 was chosen from the Health and Aging Brain Study. MA were classified as normal without subjective memory complaints (SMC) N=232, normal with SMC N= 183, and MCI without SMC N =48 and MCI with SMC N= 52. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was calculated for Geriatric Depression Scores (GDS), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSQW). ANOVAs were calculated (p< .05) to compare those with SMC and those without for the entire sample along with separate analyses for the NC groups and the MCI groups. A significant difference was found between those with SMC compared to those without SMC on GDS F (3,510) =22.572, p=.000, on BAI, F (3,505) =15.369, p=.000 and PSQW, F (3,509) = 15.336, p=.000. When analyzed separately it was found that for both normal and MCI groups there were significant differences between those with SMC and those without on the three emotional measures. Normal - GDS F (1,412) =29.691, p=.000, on BAI, F (1, 408) =40.382, p=.000 and PSQW, F (1,412) = 36.948, p=.000; MCI - GDS F (1, 98) = 13.032, p=.000, on BAI, F (1, 97) =4.874, p=.030 and PSQW, F (1, 97) = 14.794, p=.000). The results show that there are significant differences in the GDS, BAI, and PSQW scores in Mexican Americans with and without SMC. Understanding the relationship between SMC and affective symptoms will lead to the development of targeted interventions to improve cognition. The nature of the relationship between MCI and SMC is unclear and warrants future study because approximately half of the MCI group did not have SMC.