Interrelationships between depression, exercise and subjective memory complaints

Subjective memory complaints in young people: the role of resilience

OBJECTIVE

Little is known about the origin and associated factors of subjective memory complaints (SMCs) in the young population, although they might be closely related to the psychophysiological states produced by stress exposure, such as anxiety and depression. In this regard, resilience has been related to a reduction in these negative states, as well as to more adaptive hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning. We aimed to investigate the importance of depression, anxiety, and HPA axis activity in SMCs in the young population. We also analysed the relationship between resilience and SMCs through the mediation of depression, anxiety, and the cortisol awakening response (CAR).

DESIGN

To do so, we measured SMCs, depression and anxiety states, resilience, and the CAR in 77 healthy young people.

RESULTS

Both depression and anxiety were associated with SMCs. In addition, greater resilience was related to fewer SMCs through depression and anxiety. However, the CAR was not related to SMCs, and it did not mediate the relationship between resilience and SMCs.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that negative affective states have greater importance in SMCs than HPA functioning in this age group, and they also highlight the importance of resilience in the psychological adjustment to stressful situations.

Multifactorial Memory Questionnaire: a comparison of young and older adults

The Multifactorial Memory Questionnaire (MMQ; Troyer & Rich, [2002]. Psychometric properties of a new metamemory questionnaire for older adults. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 57(1), P19-P27) is a widely used measure of subjective memory consisting of three scales: Satisfaction, Ability, and Strategies. Although subjective memory complaints are prevalent across different age groups, the factor structure and psychometric properties of the MMQ have yet to be examined in young adults. Here, we independently replicated the original MMQ factor structure in N = 408 young adults (YA) recruited from undergraduate courses and N = 327 older adults (OA) and, for the first time, assessed the age-invariance of the scale using measurement invariance testing. YAs made significantly higher ratings than OAs on MMQ-Satisfaction and MMQ-Strategies, indicating greater satisfaction with their memory and greater use of strategies, but the groups were similar on MMQ-Ability. The original MMQ factor structure was replicated in OAs but not in YAs, and age invariance was not supported. Future studies seeking to compare young and older adults could therefore consider either requesting modification of the MMQ for use with young adults or using a different scale.

The Cognitive Function at Work Questionnaire (CFWQ): A new scale for measuring cognitive complaints in occupational population

Cognitive functioning is a relevant work and health related topic, however, validated methods to assess subjective cognitive complaints (SCC) at work are lacking. We introduce the Cognitive Function at Work Questionnaire (CFWQ) for measuring SCC in occupational settings. 1-year follow-up data of 418 employees from a Finnish public media service company was analyzed. Participants completed web-based CFWQ, cognitive tests and a broad set of questionnaires for evaluating depression, anxiety, insomnia, daytime sleepiness, burnout, stress, mental job burden, work ability, cognitive errors, and perceived health. The factor analysis yielded a model with the CFWQ subdomains: Memory, Language, Executive Function, Speed of Processing, Cognitive Control and Name Memory. The internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = .87) and the test-retest constancy (ICC = .84) reflected good reliability. Correlation between the CFWQ and cognitive errors at work ranged from .25 to .64 indicating adequate concurrent validity. Employees with depression, insomnia and burnout symptoms had higher (p < .001) CFWQ scores than participants without these symptoms. Depression and burnout symptom severity as well as accumulation of mood, sleep, and psychosocial stressors were associated with higher CFWQ scores (p < .001 in all). The CFWQ appears psychometrically sound measure for the assessment of SCC in occupational population.

EEG markers and subjective memory complaints in young and older people

Subjective memory complaints (SMCs) have been related to subtle cognitive deficits and neural changes. In this study, we investigated whether EEG rhythms, usually altered in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease, are also affected in SMCs compared to people without SMCs. Seventy-one older adults (55-74 years old) and 75 young people (18-34 years old) underwent 3 min of EEG recording in a resting-state condition with their eyes open (EO) and eyes closed (EC) and a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation. The EEG measures included were power spectral delta (0.5-4 Hz), theta (4-8 Hz), alpha (8-12 Hz), beta (13-30 Hz), and EEG reactivity to EO. Compared to controls, older people with SMCs showed increased theta power and a loss of alpha reactivity to EO. Additionally, in older participants with SMCs, the theta power spectral was related to deficits in verbal memory. In contrast, we failed to find differences in the young people with SMCs, compared to the control group, in the power spectral or the EEG reactivity to EO. Our findings suggest that neurophysiological markers of brain dysfunction may identify cognitive changes even before they are observed on objective neuropsychological tests, at least in older people.

Baseline cognitive functioning can predict the trajectory of acute treatment in first-episode major depressive disorder

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to investigate the role of cognitive function in the efficacy prediction of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for depression patients and to further the understanding of the relationship between baseline cognitive function and depression trajectory.

METHODS

This was part of a multicenter study for major depressive disorder. The study included 172 first-episode depression patients and 93 recurrent depression patients who had their cognitive function assessed at baseline and followed up for 8 weeks of SSRI treatment.

RESULTS

After constructing a 2-level hierarchical linear model with depression change- and cognitive function-level variables, the processing speed at baseline was the best predictor for the improvement of depression at each follow-up in first-episode patients (G11 = 0.03, P = 0.042). The treatment prediction model slope varied across patients depending on the processing speed scores at baseline. With the receiver operating characteristic curve, the combination of sociodemographic characteristics, sedative hypnotics, baseline 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD₁₇), and cognitive function showed the highest predictive power in major depressive disorder remission, resulting in a classification accuracy of 71.5%, a sensitivity of 82.5%, and a specificity of 55.1% (AUC = 0.713; P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Baseline cognitive function could help clinicians to better understand the trajectory of first-episode depression patients during acute treatment with SSRIs.

Handedness, Grip Strength, and Memory Function: Considerations by Biological Sex

Background and Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential independent and interactive effects of handedness and grip strength on episodic memory function, and whether biological sex moderated these relationships. Materials and Methods: 162 young adults (Mage = 20.7 years) completed a series of memory assessments including a subjective memory complaint evaluation and several objective measures of memory. Handedness (i.e., left-hand dominant, inconsistent handedness (ICH), and right-hand dominant) was evaluated using the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory. Handgrip strength was determined from a handgrip dynamometer. Results: When compared to ICH individuals, retrospective memory scores were statistically significantly worse for left-handed (p = 0.02) and right-handed (p = 0.03) individuals. Higher grip strength was statistically significantly associated with fewer retrospective memory complaints (b = 0.10, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.19, p = 0.04). Conclusions: The present study provides some suggestive evidence that ICH (inconsistent handedness) and greater grip strength are associated with fewer retrospective memory complaints. However, we did not observe any evidence of an interaction effect of handedness and grip strength on memory, and similarly, biological sex did not interact with these parameters to influence memory.

Effects of multiple training modalities in the elderly with subjective memory complaints: A pilot study

BACKGROUND

This study investigated the effects of multiple training modalities (MTM) on senior fitness and neuropsychiatric function in the elderly with subjective memory complaints (SMC).

METHODS

This study was conducted in 24 elderly subjects with Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) score of 0 and instrument of ascertainment of dementia 8 (AD8) score of <2. The participants were classified into SMC (n = 7) and non-SMC (n = 17).All were assigned to receive multiple training modalities (1 hour for each training: physical fitness activities, calligraphy or drawing, and meditation) twice a week over a 16-week period.A series of senior fitness test, and neuropsychiatric tests, namely the Traditional Chinese version Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE), Cognitive Assessment Screening Instrument (CASI), and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD), were conducted before and after the intervention. We compared the differences of pre/posttest-MTM and SMC/non-SMC in senior fitness and the neuropsychological tests.

RESULTS

There was no significant difference between SMC and non-SMC groups in demographic characteristics. MTM showed significant improvement in senior fitness and CESD, but not in CASI and MMSE. Significant change in recent memory subscale of CASI was only observed in SMC group, whereas improvement of partial senior fitness and CESD were observed in both groups.

CONCLUSION

MTM had effects in enhancing senior fitness and improving depressive syndromes in the elderly. MTM contributed to greater improvement in recent memory function in the SMC group than in the non-SMC group.