Memory Concerns, Memory Performance and Risk of Dementia in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment

Journal Article · Mon Jul 14 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · PLoS ONE

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0100812· OSTI ID:1627709

Wolfsgruber, Steffen ^[1]; Wagner, Michael ^[2]; Schmidtke, Klaus ^[3]; Frölich, Lutz ^[4]; Kurz, Alexander ^[5]; Schulz, Stefanie ^[6]; Hampel, Harald ^[7]; Heuser, Isabella ^[8]; Peters, Oliver ^[8]; Reischies, Friedel M. ^[8]; Jahn, Holger ^[9]; Luckhaus, Christian ^[10]; Hüll, Michael ^[11]; Gertz, Hermann-Josef ^[12]; Schröder, Johannes ^[13]; Pantel, Johannes ^[14]; Rienhoff, Otto ^[15]; Rüther, Eckart ^[15]; Henn, Fritz ^[16]; Wiltfang, Jens ^[17] ; Maier, Wolfgang ^[18]; Kornhuber, Johannes ^[19]; Jessen, Frank ^[18]

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1. University of Bonn (Germany); DOE/OSTI
2. University of Bonn (Germany)
3. Ortenau Klinikum, Offenburg-Gengenbach (Germany)
4. Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim (Germany)
5. Technical University of Munich (Germany)
6. University of Aachen (Germany); Gottingen University (Germany)
7. Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Munich (Germany)
8. Charite Berlin (Germany)
9. University of Hamburg (Germany)
10. Heinrich-Heine-University, Duesseldorf (Germany)
11. University of Freiburg (Germany)
12. University of Leipzig (Germany)
13. Heidelberg University (Germany)
14. University of Frankfurt (Germany)
15. Gottingen University (Germany)
16. Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
17. University of Essen (Germany)
18. University of Bonn (Germany); German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Bonn (Germany)
19. Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen (Germany)

Concerns about worsening memory (‘‘memory concerns’’; MC) and impairment in memory performance are both predictors of Alzheimer’s dementia (AD). The relationship of both in dementia prediction at the pre-dementia disease stage, however, is not well explored. Refined understanding of the contribution of both MC and memory performance in dementia prediction is crucial for defining at-risk populations. We examined the risk of incident AD by MC and memory performance in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). We analyzed data of 417 MCI patients from a longitudinal multicenter observational study. Patients were classified based on presence (n = 305) vs. absence (n = 112) of MC. Risk of incident AD was estimated with Cox Proportional-Hazards regression models. Risk of incident AD was increased by MC (HR = 2.55, 95%CI: 1.33–4.89), lower memory performance (HR = 0.63, 95%CI: 0.56–0.71) and ApoE4-genotype (HR = 1.89, 95%CI: 1.18–3.02). An interaction effect between MC and memory performance was observed. The predictive power of MC was greatest for patients with very mild memory impairment and decreased with increasing memory impairment. Our data suggest that the power of MC as a predictor of future dementia at the MCI stage varies with the patients’ level of cognitive impairment. While MC are predictive at early stage MCI, their predictive value at more advanced stages of MCI is reduced. This suggests that loss of insight related to AD may occur at the late stage of MCI.

• Research Organization: Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF); Katharina-Hardt-Foundation; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
• Grant/Contract Number: SC0012704
• OSTI ID: 1627709
• Journal Information: PLoS ONE, Journal Name: PLoS ONE Journal Issue: 7 Vol. 9; ISSN 1932-6203
• Publisher: Public Library of Science
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES
Alzheimer's disease
cognitive impairment
depression
forecasting
medical risk factors
memory
memory recall
neuropsychological testing