title: Anxiety affects cognition differently in healthy apolipoprotein E ε4 homozygotes and non-carriers.
abstract: It is not known whether apolipoprotein E ε4-an Alzheimer disease susceptibility gene-influences the effects of state-anxiety on executive functioning in healthy individuals. In a prospective cohort study of 185 cognitively normal individuals, there were ε4 homozygotes, heterozygotes, and non-carriers, who did not differ in age, sex, years of education, cognitive test scores, psychotropic medications, and state- or trait-anxiety. However, higher anxiety was associated with significantly worse Trails B performance in the ε4 homozygotes, as compared with ε4 non-carriers. The association of executive-functioning difficulties and anxiety appears more likely to occur in persons who are most at risk for subsequent cognitive decline.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Psychiatry and Psychology, Section of Biostatistics, and Dept of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Arizona, USA. stonnington.cynthia@mayo.edu
authors.forename: Cynthia M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Stonnington
authors.forename: Dona E C
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Locke
authors.forename: Amylou C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Dueck
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Caselli
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001007:Anxiety / Q000150:complications* / Q000235:genetics*; D053327:Apolipoprotein E4 / Q000235:genetics*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000235:genetics*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006720:Homozygote; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests
chemical_list: D053327:Apolipoprotein E4