Subjective cognitive complaints refer to an individual’s self-experience of cognitive decline.
In a study from the University of New South Wales, scientists found that certain presentations of memory concerns by older adults are predictive of future dementia.
The findings highlight the importance of general practitioners in listening to their older adult patient population in relation to memory.
Research increasingly suggests that subjective complaints may be the earliest detectible stage of preclinical dementia.
Subjective cognitive complaints have the potential to capture everyday memory problems that are not always detected by clinical tests.
They can refer to specific changes in memory ability or changes in other cognitive domains like language or processing speed.
In the study, the team tested 873 older adults without dementia when first assessed.
They also surveyed 843 informants who knew participants well enough to comment on changes in participants’ cognitive abilities.
The researchers found participant and informant memory-specific cognitive complaints were associated with the rate of global cognitive decline.
If an informant noted that the person had poorer memory, six years later we found a decline in memory and executive function (planning, understanding, abstract thinking).
The risk of dementia at follow-up was also greater if participants complained about poorer memory or if their informant noted changes in memory and non-memory types of cognition.
The findings emphasized the importance of an older adult’s subjective presentations and the relevance of the perceptions of informants in relation to predicting cognitive decline.
The team says while many people with memory complaints will not develop dementia, where possible, informants should be asked to report any changes in the individual’s memory and non-memory abilities, as such symptoms increase the risk of further decline.
If you care about dementia, please read studies about new drugs for incurable vascular dementia, and high blood pressure may lower dementia risk for some old adults.
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The study was conducted by Dr. Katya Numbers et al and published in PLOS ONE.
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