Differential relationships of somatic and cognitive anxiety with measures of processing speed in older adults.
Research suggests a reciprocal relationship between late-life anxiety and cognition, particularly attention and executive functions. Whereas evidence supports a conceptual distinction between cognitive and somatic dimensions of anxiety, their differential relationship with cognitive outcomes has not been examined, particularly on tests of attention/executive functions that rely on processing speed. Study goals were threefold: (a) to describe levels of overall, cognitive, and somatic anxiety in a sample of older adults without dementia, (b) to determine if overall anxiety is associated with performance on select measures of attention/executive functions that rely on processing speed, and (c) to determine if a differential relationship exists between cognitive and somatic anxiety and cognitive performance. Participants were 368 community-dwelling older adults. Results showed that elevated levels of somatic, but not cognitive anxiety were associated with poorer performance across measures. Findings suggest that the nature of anxiety symptoms may have important implications for cognitive performance in older adults.
a Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology , Yeshiva University , Bronx , NY , USA.
Chelsea B
CB
Schoen
a Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology , Yeshiva University , Bronx , NY , USA.|b Department of Neurology , Albert Einstein College of Medicine , Bronx , NY , USA.
Roee
R
Holtzer
D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D001288:Attention; D003071:Cognition; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D013850:Thinking
Anxiety; aging; attention; executive functions; processing speed