title: The Cognitive Change in Women study (CCW): informant ratings of cognitive change but not self-ratings are associated with neuropsychological performance over 3 years.
abstract: The value of self-reported memory complaints for identifying or predicting future cognitive decline or dementia is controversial, but observations from a third party, or "informant," may prove more useful. The relationship between Informant and Self-ratings of cognitive status and neuropsychological test scores was examined in a cohort of 384 nondemented, community-dwelling women, aged 60 years and older, participating in a single-site Women's Health Initiative ancillary study. Each participant and her respective informant separately completed the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE). Participants also underwent neuropsychological testing and responded to questionnaires on depression and functioning in complex activities of daily living. All neuropsychological test scores were significantly correlated (P values <0.05 to <0.01) with IQCODE ratings whereas Self-ratings overestimated cognitive functioning in some domains. Furthermore, the Self and Informant ratings were both positively correlated with depression and negatively correlated with participants' activity level. Therefore, informant judgments of functional abilities are robust predictors of cognitive status in high functioning nondemented women. These results suggest that informants may be sensitive to changes that are not clinically significant but that may represent an incipient trend for decline.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA. r-gavett@northwestern.edu
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gavett
authors.forename: Julie E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Dunn
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stoddard
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Harty
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Weintraub
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003071:Cognition; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
references.citation: Psychol Med. 1989 Nov;19(4):1015-22
references.pmid: 2594878
references.citation: J Psychiatr Res. 1975 Nov;12(3):189-98
references.pmid: 1202204
references.citation: Neurology. 1989 Sep;39(9):1159-65
references.pmid: 2771064
references.citation: J Am Geriatr Soc. 1994 Jan;42(1):1-4
references.pmid: 8277103
references.citation: Ann Med. 1998 Dec;30(6):553-9
references.pmid: 9920358
references.citation: Arch Neurol. 1999 Mar;56(3):303-8
references.pmid: 10190820
references.citation: Neurology. 2007 Feb 27;68(9):670-6
references.pmid: 17325274
references.citation: Neurology. 2006 Sep 12;67(5):834-42
references.pmid: 16966547
references.citation: J Am Geriatr Soc. 2004 Dec;52(12):2045-51
references.pmid: 15571540
references.citation: Psychol Aging. 1996 Jun;11(2):272-9
references.pmid: 8795055
references.citation: Mol Psychiatry. 2002;7(7):768-75
references.pmid: 12192621
references.citation: J Psychiatr Res. 1982-1983;17(1):37-49
references.pmid: 7183759
references.citation: Psychol Med. 2000 Jul;30(4):981-5
references.pmid: 11037106
references.citation: Int Psychogeriatr. 1997;9 Suppl 1:173-6; discussion 177-8
references.pmid: 9447441
references.citation: Neurology. 1994 Apr;44(4):609-14
references.pmid: 8164812
references.citation: J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2006 Feb;77(2):166-71
references.pmid: 16421116
references.citation: J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 2004 May;26(3):347-55
references.pmid: 15512925
references.citation: Aging (Milano). 1995 Aug;7(4):174-84
references.pmid: 8541368
references.citation: Ann Neurol. 1988 Jul;24(1):17-22
references.pmid: 3415196
references.citation: J Am Geriatr Soc. 2005 Apr;53(4):616-21
references.pmid: 15817007
references.citation: Neurology. 2005 Aug 23;65(4):559-64
references.pmid: 16116116
references.citation: Psychol Med. 1994 Feb;24(1):145-53
references.pmid: 8208879
references.citation: Am J Psychiatry. 1993 May;150(5):748-51
references.pmid: 8480820
references.citation: Am J Psychiatry. 1999 Jul;156(7):1035-8
references.pmid: 10401448
references.citation: Arch Neurol. 1996 May;53(5):423-7
references.pmid: 8624217
references.citation: J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol. 2008 Jun;21(2):83-92
references.pmid: 18474717
references.citation: Med J Aust. 1990 Aug 20;153(4):192-6
references.pmid: 2388603
references.citation: Psychol Med. 1997 Jan;27(1):91-8
references.pmid: 9122313
references.citation: Neurology. 1993 Dec;43(12):2457-65
references.pmid: 8255439
references.citation: Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 2003 Sep;61(3A):601-6
references.pmid: 14513165
references.citation: Ann Med. 2000 Feb;32(1):6-14
references.pmid: 10711572
references.citation: Neurobiol Aging. 2001 Sep-Oct;22(5):747-54
references.pmid: 11705634
references.citation: Am J Psychiatry. 1998 Nov;155(11):1529-35
references.pmid: 9812113
references.citation: Psychol Med. 1991 Aug;21(3):785-90
references.pmid: 1946866
references.citation: J Am Geriatr Soc. 2006 Feb;54(2):335-8
references.pmid: 16460388
references.citation: Br J Psychiatry. 1988 Feb;152:209-13
references.pmid: 3167337