title: Prevalence and predictors of “subjective cognitive complaints” in the Sydney Memory and Ageing Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To document the prevalence of self- and informant report of cognitive problems, usually referred to as "subjective cognitive complaints" (SCCs), in a community-dwelling sample of older adults and to examine the relationship between SCCs and objective impairment, mood, and personality measures.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eight hundred twenty-seven nondemented community-dwelling adults aged 70-90 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were asked 24 SCC questions, including the Memory Complaint Questionnaire (MAC-Q), and completed neuropsychological testing in the domains of memory, language, executive function, visuospatial skills, and psychomotor speed. The Geriatric Depression Scale, Goldberg Anxiety Scale, and Neuroticism, Openness, and Conscientiousness from the NEO-Five Factor Inventory were used as measures of participants' psychological status. Informants completed 19 SCC questions, including a modified short Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 95.5% of participants or their informants endorsed at least one SCC. Although participants were more likely to endorse a memory complaint, informants seemed more accurate in endorsing a complaint when cognitive impairment was objectively present. SCC correlated with participants' scores on measures of depression, anxiety, neuroticism, and inversely with measures of openness and conscientiousness. Age, education, and sex had little impact on these effects. Regression analysis showed that psychological factors explained the number of complaints more than cognitive performance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The usefulness of SCCs as a criterion for mild cognitive impairment is questioned because of their high prevalence and their relationship to psychological factors. This may be helpful for clinicians to bear in mind when presented with patients with cognitive complaints.
authors.affiliation: Brain and Ageing Research Program, School of Psychiatry, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. m.slavin@unsw.edu.au
authors.forename: Melissa J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Slavin
authors.forename: Henry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Brodaty
authors.forename: Nicole A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Kochan
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Crawford
authors.forename: Julian N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Trollor
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Draper
authors.forename: Perminder S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Sachdev
mesh_terms: D000339:Affect; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001007:Anxiety / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010552:Personality Assessment; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D057566:Self Report