Self-Reported Memory Failures: Associations with Future Dementia in a Population-Based Study with Long-Term Follow-Up.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the association between self-reported memory failures and incident dementia in individuals aged 60 and older.


METHODS
Longitudinal, community based.


METHODS
Betula Prospective Cohort Study, a population-based study in Umeå, Sweden.


METHODS
Individuals with a mean age of 71.5 ± 8.8 (range 60-90) (N = 1,547).


METHODS
Participants rated the frequency of everyday memory failures using the 16-item Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ) and underwent objective memory testing at baseline. Participant self-reports of complaints of poor memory by family and friends were evaluated. Dementia status was followed-up for 10 to 12 years.


RESULTS
Over the study period, 225 participants developed dementia (132 with Alzheimer's disease (AD)). In Cox proportional hazard regression models adjusted for demographic factors, PRMQz-scores predicted incident dementia (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.21 for all-cause dementia; HR = 1.25 for AD, Ps < .01). The significant associations remained when depressive symptoms and objective memory performance were adjusted for, when low performers on objective memory (≥1 standard deviations below the age group mean) were excluded, and in analyses with delayed entry (survival time ≥ 5 years). Similar patterns were observed for the prospective and retrospective subscales, although including how often participants self-reported that others complained about their poor memory eliminated the association between PRMQ scores and dementia and itself emerged as a significant predictor.


CONCLUSIONS
Self-reported memory failure predicted future dementia or AD independent of objective memory performance. Subjective reports of complaints by family and friends appear to be an even more-important indicator of preclinical impairments, and physicians should not ignore them, even in the absence of objective memory deficits.
Department of Psychology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
Michael
M
Rönnlund
Department of Psychology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.|Centre for Demographic and Ageing Research, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
Anna
A
Sundström
Division of Psychiatry, Department of Clinical Sciences, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
Rolf
R
Adolfsson
Umeå Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.|Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Lars-Göran
LG
Nilsson
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003704:Dementia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D059026:Diagnostic Self Evaluation; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors
Alzheimer's disease; dementia; objective memory; subjective memory