ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) develop Alzheimer's type dementia approximately 10 times faster annually than the normal population. Adrenal hormones are associated with aging and cognition. We investigated the relationship between acute stress, cortisol, and memory function in aMCI with an exploratory analysis of sex. METHOD: Salivary cortisol was sampled diurnally and during two test sessions, one session with the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), to explore differences in the relationship between cortisol and memory function in age-normal cognition (NA) and aMCI. Participants with aMCI (n = 6 women, 9 men; mean age = 75) or similarly aged NA (n = 9 women, 7 men, mean age = 75) were given tests of episodic, associative, and spatial working memory with a psychosocial stressor (TSST) in the second session. RESULTS: The aMCI group performed worse on the memory tests than NA as expected, and males with aMCI had elevated cortisol levels on test days. Immediate episodic memory was enhanced by social stress in NA but not in the aMCI group, indicating that stress-induced alterations in memory are different in individuals with aMCI. High cortisol was associated with impaired performance on episodic memory in aMCI males only. Cortisol in Session 1 moderated the relationship with spatial working memory, whereby higher cortisol was associated with worse performance in NA, but better spatial working memory in aMCI. In addition, effects of aMCI on perceived anxiety in response to stress exposure were moderated by stress-induced cortisol in a sex-specific manner. CONCLUSIONS: We show effects of aMCI on Test Session cortisol levels and effects on perceived anxiety, and stress-induced impairments in memory in males with aMCI in our exploratory sample. Future studies should explore sex as a biological variable as our findings suggest that effects at the confluence of aMCI and stress can be obfuscated without sex as a consideration.
Subject(s)
Alzheimer Disease/blood , Cognitive Dysfunction/blood , Hydrocortisone/blood , Memory, Episodic , Sex Characteristics , Stress, Psychological/blood , Aged , Aging/blood , Aging/psychology , Alzheimer Disease/psychology , Cognition/physiology , Cognitive Dysfunction/psychology , Female , Humans , Male , Memory, Short-Term/physiology , Neuropsychological Tests , Reference Values , Stress, Psychological/complications , Stress, Psychological/psychologyABSTRACT
Las estrategias de compensación son un mecanismo de adaptación del adulto mayor por el cual se implementan conductas para mantener la eficacia del procesamiento cognitivo. Objetivo: Evaluar las estrategias de compensación y la influencia de variables sociodemográficas mediante Cuestionario de Compensación de Memoria. Metodología: 139 adultos mayores argentinos, entre los 60 y 90 años (X= 71,53; DS=7,81), 77% mujeres. Resultados: Se estima la fiabilidad del MCQ mediante el É de Cronbach= .86. Los adultos mayores presentan variaciones en el uso de estrategias de compensación según el género y el nivel educativo. Los hombres utilizan más la estrategia Confianza. Las personas con menor nivel educativo obtienen un puntaje mayor en la escala Esfuerzo, demostrando que les cuesta más implementar estrategias de compensación. Conclusiones: El MCQ es una herramienta útil para evaluar la percepción del adulto mayor dando cuenta de cómo se adapta al cambio y a las demandas del ambiente(AU)
Compensation strategies are an adaptation mechanism used by elderly, which are implemented to maintain the effectiveness of cognitive processing. Objective: Evaluate the compensation strategies and the influence of sociodemographic variables using the Memory Compensation Questionnaire. Methodology: 139 Argentine older adults, between 60 and 90 years old (X = 71.53; DS = 7.81), 77% women. Results: The reliability of the MCQ is estimated using Cronbach's a = .86. Older adults show variations in the use of 95 compensation strategies according to gender and educational level. Men use the Reliance strategy more. Participants with a lower educational level obtain a higher score on the Effort scale, showing that it is more difficult for them to implement compensation strategies. Conclusions: The MCQ is a useful tool to assess how the elderly perceives how the adapt to change and environmental demands(AU)
