scholarly journals Predictors and Correlates of Perceived Cognitive Decline in Retired Professional Rugby League Players

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Van Patten ◽  
Grant L. Iverson ◽  
Douglas P. Terry ◽  
Christopher R. Levi ◽  
Andrew J. Gardner
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Neuropsychological Testing ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Rugby League ◽  
Self Report ◽  
American Football ◽  
Cognitive Test ◽  
Full Contact

Objective: Rugby league is an international full-contact sport, with frequent concussive injuries. Participation in other full-contact sports such as American football has been considered to be a risk factor for neuropsychiatric sequelae later-in-life, but little research has addressed the mental and cognitive health of retired professional rugby league players. We examined predictors and correlates of perceived (self-reported) cognitive decline in retired National Rugby League (NRL) players.Methods: Participants were 133 retired male elite level rugby league players in Australia. Participants completed clinical interviews, neuropsychological testing, and self-report measures. The Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly, self-report (IQCODE-Self), measured perceived cognitive decline.Results: The median age of the sample was 55.0 (M = 53.1, SD = 13.9, range = 30–89) and the median years of education completed was 12.0 (M = 11.9, SD = 2.6, range = 7–18). The retired players reported a median of 15.0 total lifetime concussions (M = 28.0, SD = 36.6, range = 0–200). The mean IQCODE-Self score was 3.2 (SD = 0.5; Range = 1.3–5.0); 10/133 (7.5%) and 38/133 (28.6%) scored above conservative and liberal cutoffs for cognitive decline on the IQCODE-Self, respectively. Perceived cognitive decline was positively correlated with current depressive symptoms, negatively correlated with years of professional sport exposure and resilience, and unrelated to objective cognition and number of self-reported concussions. A multiple regression model with perceived cognitive decline regressed on age, concussion history, professional rugby league exposure, depression, resilience, objective cognitive functioning, daytime sleepiness, and pain severity showed depression as the only significant predictor.Conclusion: This is the first large study examining subjectively experienced cognitive decline in retired professional rugby league players. Similar to studies from the general population and specialty clinics, no relationship was found between objective cognitive test performance and perceived cognitive decline. Depressive symptoms emerged as the strongest predictor of perceived cognitive decline, suggesting that subjective reports of worsening cognition in retired elite rugby league players might reflect psychological distress rather than current cognitive impairment.

Complaints of cognitive decline in the elderly: a comparison of reports by subjects and informants in a community survey

1994 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 365-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. F. Jorm ◽  
H. Christensen ◽  
A. S. Henderson ◽  
A. E. Korten ◽  
A. J. Mackinnon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Affective State ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Community Survey ◽  
Cognitive Test ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Cognitive Test Performance

SynopsisIn a community survey, subjects and their informants were asked the same questions about memory and intellectual decline in the subjects. Subjects and informants both commonly reported cognitive decline, although in most cases the decline was not seen as interfering with daily life. However, when responses from subjects and informants were cross-tabulated, agreement was found to be poor. For subjects, reports of cognitive decline were correlated with anxiety and depression symptoms and with trait neuroticism. Subjects' reports were uncorrelated with age and only weakly correlated with cognitive test performance, indicating little validity. By contrast, informants' reports were correlated with the subjects' cognitive test performance and age, but also with the informants' own anxiety and depression symptoms. Although informants' reports have validity, they may also be contaminated by the informants' affective state.

The course of depression in the elderly: a longitudinal community-based study in Australia

1997 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. S. HENDERSON ◽  
A. E. KORTEN ◽  
P. A. JACOMB ◽  
A. J. MACKINNON ◽  
A. F. JORM ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Service Use ◽  
Community Sample ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
Sample Attrition ◽  
Poor Social Support ◽  
Icd 10 ◽  
Depressive States

Background. We report the outcome of depressive states after 3-4 years in a community sample of the elderly.Methods. A sample of 1045 persons aged 70+ years in 1990–1 was re-interviewed after 3·6 years.Results. Mortality (21·7%) and refusal or non-availability (10·4%) were higher in those who initially had had a diagnosis or symptoms of depression. Of those with an ICD-10 depressive episode in 1990–1, 13% retained that diagnosis. Of those who were not depressed initially only 2·5% had become cases. Depression was unrelated to age or apolipoprotein E genotype. The best predictors of the number of depressive symptoms at follow-up was the number at Wave 1, followed by deterioration in health and in activities of daily living, high neuroticism, poor current health, poor social support, low current activity levels and high service use. Depressive symptoms at Wave 1 did not predict subsequent cognitive decline or dementia.Conclusions. Non-random sample attrition is unavoidable. ICD-10 criteria yield more cases than other systems, while continuous measures of symptoms confer analytical advantages. Risk factors for depressive states in the elderly have been further identified. The prognosis for these states is favourable. At the community level, depressive symptoms do not seem to predict cognitive decline, as they do in referred series.

Differences in quantitative methods for measuring subjective cognitive decline – results from a prospective memory clinic study

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (9) ◽  
pp. 1513-1520 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asmus Vogel ◽  
Lise Cronberg Salem ◽  
Birgitte Bo Andersen ◽  
Gunhild Waldemar
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Cognitive Status ◽  
Cognitive Test ◽  
Subjective Cognitive Decline ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Memory Clinic ◽  
Subjective Memory ◽  
Wide Range

ABSTRACTBackground:Cognitive complaints occur frequently in elderly people and may be a risk factor for dementia and cognitive decline. Results from studies on subjective cognitive decline are difficult to compare due to variability in assessment methods, and little is known about how different methods influence reports of cognitive decline.Methods:The Subjective Memory Complaints Scale (SMC) and The Memory Complaint Questionnaire (MAC-Q) were applied in 121 mixed memory clinic patients with mild cognitive symptoms (mean MMSE = 26.8, SD 2.7). The scales were applied independently and raters were blinded to results from the other scale. Scales were not used for diagnostic classification. Cognitive performances and depressive symptoms were also rated. We studied the association between the two measures and investigated the scales’ relation to depressive symptoms, age, and cognitive status.Results:SMC and MAC-Q were significantly associated (r = 0.44, N = 121, p = 0.015) and both scales had a wide range of scores. In this mixed cohort of patients, younger age was associated with higher SMC scores. There were no significant correlations between cognitive test performances and scales measuring subjective decline. Depression scores were significantly correlated to both scales measuring subjective decline. Linear regression models showed that age did not have a significant contribution to the variance in subjective memory beyond that of depressive symptoms.Conclusions:Measures for subjective cognitive decline are not interchangeable when used in memory clinics and the application of different scales in previous studies is an important factor as to why studies show variability in the association between subjective cognitive decline and background data and/or clinical results. Careful consideration should be taken as to which questions are relevant and have validity when operationalizing subjective cognitive decline.

scholarly journals Association Between Cognitive Test Performance and Subjective Cognitive Decline in a Diverse Cohort of Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 198-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian W. Corlier ◽  
Crystal Shaw ◽  
Eleanor Hayes-Larson ◽  
Dan Mungas ◽  
Sarah Tomaszewski Farias ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Cognitive Test ◽  
Subjective Cognitive Decline ◽  
Cognitive Test Performance

scholarly journals Perceived Discrimination and Cognition in Older African Americans

2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 856-865 ◽  
Author(s):  
L.L. Barnes ◽  
T.T. Lewis ◽  
C.T. Begeny ◽  
L. Yu ◽  
D.A. Bennett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Perceived Discrimination ◽  
Cognitive Test ◽  
Perceptual Speed ◽  
Physical Health Outcomes ◽  
Older African Americans ◽  
Cognitive Test Performance

AbstractExisting evidence suggests that psychosocial stress is associated with cognitive impairment in older adults. Perceived discrimination is a persistent stressor in African Americans that has been associated with several adverse mental and physical health outcomes. To our knowledge, the association of discrimination with cognition in older African Americans has not been examined. In a cohort of 407 older African Americans without dementia (mean age = 72.9; SD = 6.4), we found that a higher level of perceived discrimination was related to poorer cognitive test performance, particularly episodic memory (estimate = −0.03; SE = .013; p < .05) and perceptual speed tests (estimate = −0.04; SE = .015; p < .05). The associations were unchanged after adjusting for demographics and vascular risk factors, but were attenuated after adjustment for depressive symptoms (Episodic memory estimate = −0.02; SE = 0.01; Perceptual speed estimate = −0.03; SE = 0.02; both p's = .06). The association between discrimination and several cognitive domains was modified by level of neuroticism. The results suggest that perceived discrimination may be associated with poorer cognitive function, but does not appear to be independent of depressive symptoms. (JINS, 2012, 18, 1–10)

scholarly journals Cognitive Function After the Initiation of Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy in Early-Stage Breast Cancer: An Observational Cohort Study

2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (31) ◽  
pp. 3559-3567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia A. Ganz ◽  
Laura Petersen ◽  
Steven A. Castellon ◽  
Julienne E. Bower ◽  
Daniel H.S. Silverman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Endocrine Therapy ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Early Stage Breast Cancer ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Cognitive Complaints ◽  
Observational Cohort

Purpose This report examines cognitive complaints and neuropsychological (NP) testing outcomes in patients with early-stage breast cancer after the initiation of endocrine therapy (ET) to determine whether this therapy plays any role in post-treatment cognitive complaints. Patients and Methods One hundred seventy-three participants from the Mind Body Study (MBS) observational cohort provided data from self-report questionnaires and NP testing obtained at enrollment (T1, before initiation of ET), and 6 months later (T2). Bivariate analyses compared demographic and treatment variables, cognitive complaints, depressive symptoms, quality of life, and NP functioning between those who received ET versus not. Multivariable linear regression models examined predictors of cognitive complaints at T2, including selected demographic variables, depressive symptoms, ET use, and other medical variables, along with NP domains that were identified in bivariate analyses. Results Seventy percent of the 173 MBS participants initiated ET, evenly distributed between tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors. ET-treated participants reported significantly increased language and communication (LC) cognitive complaints at T2 (P = .003), but no significant differences in NP test performance. Multivariable regression on LC at T2 found higher LC complaints significantly associated with T1 LC score (P < .001), ET at T2 (P = .004), interaction between ET and past hormone therapy (HT) (P < .001), and diminished improvement in NP psychomotor function (P = .05). Depressive symptoms were not significant (P = .10). Conclusion Higher LC complaints are significantly associated with ET 6 months after starting treatment and reflect diminished improvements in some NP tests. Past HT is a significant predictor of higher LC complaints after initiation of ET.

Use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging to Identify Mild Cognitive Impairment: Who Should Be Imaged?

CNS Spectrums ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 13 (S16) ◽  
pp. 18-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liana G. Apostolova
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
Neuropsychological Testing ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Cognitive Change ◽  
Normal Aging ◽  
Cognitive Changes ◽  
New Information

Problems with memory are a very common complaint in the elderly and are not synonymous with dementia. Some degree of cognitive decline, manifested as greater difficulty in learning and retrieving new information for instance, develops with normal aging. Thus many older patients do not perform at the same level they did when they were younger but they do perform well when compared to their peers. For many, cognitive change ends at this stage and they proceed to lead normal, healthy, dementia-free lives.The cohort that has cognitive changes beyond what is expected in normal aging but does not yet meet criteria for dementia concerns clinicians greatly as many of these patients eventually become demented. These patients usually go through a latent stage in which neurodegenerative pathology silently spreads in the brain. Once there is enough pathological burden, cognitive decline beyond what is expected for normal aging can be detected by formal neuropsychological testing. Frequently such patients go through a state called mild cognitive impairment (MCI). In this state patients are still functionally intact and live independently, but show cognitive impairment relative to the age- and education-adjusted norms.The MCI state in itself is a prominent risk factor for developing dementia. Most patients with amnestic MCI develop Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia over time. At six years, as many as 80% progress to AD. Thus, MCI is a very important topic of research and an increasingly important topic of clinical care.

scholarly journals Mild cognitive impairment: historical development and summary of research

2004 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 351-367
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Molecular Genetic ◽  
Treatment Strategies ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Cognitive Test ◽  
Cross Sectional

This review article broadly traces the historical development, diagnostic criteria, clinical and neuropathological characteristics, and treatment strategies related to mild cognitive impairment (MCI), The concept of MCI is considered in the context of other terms that have been developed to characterize the elderly with varying degrees of cognitive impairment Criteria based on clinical global scale ratings, cognitive test performance, and performance on other domains of functioning are discussed. Approaches employing clinical, neuropsychological, neuroimaging, biological, and molecular genetic methodology used in the validation of MCI are considered, including results from cross-sectional, longitudinal, and postmortem investigations. Results of recent drug treatment studies of MCI and related methodological issues are also addressed.

Abstract 04: Incident Heart Failure and Longitudinal Cognitive Trajectories in the Cardiovascular Health Study

Circulation ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 131 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christa Schank ◽  
Natalie J Blades ◽  
Sarwat I Chaudhry ◽  
John A Dodson ◽  
W T Longstreth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Failure ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Cardiovascular Health ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Cognitive Test ◽  
Health Study ◽  
Cardiovascular Health Study ◽  
Incident Heart Failure ◽  
Rate Of Decline

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether older adults who develop incident heart failure (HF) experience faster cognitive decline than those without HF. METHODS: We analyzed longitudinal cognitive test data from the Cardiovascular Health Study, a community-based study of adults aged 65 years and older. Participants in this analysis did not have HF or history of stroke at baseline and were censored when they experienced incident clinical stroke. Incident HF was identified by self-report of physician-diagnosed HF and confirmed by adjudicated review of inpatient and outpatient medical records and medication use. Outcomes were mean score and rate of decline in mean score on the 100-point Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MSE), administered annually up to nine times from 1990 to 1998. A linear mixed effects model was used to model the relationship of cognitive decline with HF and age, adjusted for demographics, health behaviors, and comorbid conditions including hypertension and diabetes. RESULTS: Analyses included 5,211 participants with mean age 74 years at baseline, of whom 545 (10.5%) developed incident HF over a median follow-up of 7.8 years. Mean 3MSE score was lower at the time of HF diagnosis compared with no HF, and declined faster after incident HF compared with no HF. For example, at age 80, covariate-adjusted predicted mean 3MSE score was 88.6 points (95% CI: 88.3, 89.0) in participants without HF, but 87.6 points (95% CI: 87.3, 87.9) in those with newly diagnosed HF. Predicted five-year decline in mean 3MSE score from age 80 to age 85 was 5.9 points (95% CI: 5.7, 6.0) in participants without HF, but 10.0 points (95% CI: 8.6, 11.3) in those diagnosed with incident HF at age 80. Faster decline in 3MSE score after HF diagnosis was seen at all ages studied. The figure shows predicted mean 3MSE score trajectories without HF (solid line) and after HF diagnosed at ages 70, 75, 80, and 85 (dashed lines), with 95% CI shaded. CONCLUSIONS: Older adults diagnosed with incident HF experience faster average cognitive decline than those without HF.

scholarly journals Traditional Neuropsychological Testing Does Not Predict Motor-Cognitive Test Performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (20) ◽  
pp. 7393
Author(s):  
Jan Wilke ◽  
Oliver Vogel ◽  
Sandra Ungricht
Keyword(s):  
Test Performance ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Neuropsychological Testing ◽  
Cognitive Testing ◽  
Cognitive Test ◽  
Balance Test ◽  
Span Test ◽  
Counter Movement Jump ◽  
Test Digit

The ecological validity of neuropsychological testing (NT) has been questioned in the sports environment. A frequent criticism is that NT, mostly consisting of pen and paper or digital assessments, lacks relevant bodily movement. This study aimed to identify the determinants of a newly developed testing battery integrating both cognitive and motor demands. Twenty active individuals (25 ± 3 years, 11 males) completed the new motor-cognitive testing battery (MC), traditional NT (Stroop test, Trail Making test, Digit Span test) and isolated assessments of motor function (MF; Y-balance test, 20m-sprint, counter-movement jump). Kendal’s tau and partial Spearman correlations were used to detect associations between MC and NT/MF. Except for two items (Reactive Agility A and counter-movement jump; Run-Decide and sprint time; r = 0.37, p < 0.05), MC was not related to MF. Similarly, MC and NT were mostly unrelated, even when controlling for the two significant motor covariates (p > 0.05). The only MC item with (weak to moderate) associations to NT was the Memory Span test (Digit Span backwards and composite; r = 0.43–0.54, p < 0.05). In sum, motor-cognitive function appears to be largely independent from its two assumed components NT and MF and may represent a new parameter in performance diagnostics.

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