title: Anxiety symptoms and risk of dementia and mild cognitive impairment in the oldest old women.
abstract: Research is limited and findings conflict regarding anxiety as a predictor of future cognitive decline in the oldest old persons. We examined the relationship between levels of and changes in anxiety symptoms, and subsequent dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in the oldest old women.
  
  
  
  We conducted secondary analyses of data collected from 1425 community-dwelling women (mean age = 82.8, SD ±3.1 years) followed on average for five years. The Goldberg Anxiety Scale was used to assess anxiety symptoms at baseline, and an expert clinical panel adjudicated dementia and MCI at follow-up. Participants with probable cognitive impairment at baseline were excluded.
  
  
  
  At baseline, 190 (13%) women had moderate/severe anxiety symptoms and 403 (28%) had mild anxiety symptoms. Compared with those with no anxiety symptoms at baseline, women with mild anxiety symptoms were more likely to develop dementia at follow-up (multivariable-adjusted odds ratio = 1.66, 95% confidence interval 1.12-2.45). No significant association was observed between anxiety symptoms and MCI.
  
  
  
  In the oldest old women, our findings suggest that mild anxiety symptoms may predict future risk of dementia, but not MCI. Future studies should explore potential biological mechanisms underlying associations of anxiety with cognitive impairment.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health , University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh , PA , United States.
authors.forename: Ahmed M
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4053-7841
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Kassem
authors.affiliation: a Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health , University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh , PA , United States.|b Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, School of Medicine , University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh , PA , United States.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ganguli
authors.affiliation: c Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology and Epidemiology , University of California , San Francisco , CA , United States.
authors.forename: Kristine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yaffe
authors.affiliation: a Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health , University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh , PA , United States.|d Department of Medicine , University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh , PA , United States.
authors.forename: Joseph T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Hanlon
authors.affiliation: b Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, School of Medicine , University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh , PA , United States.
authors.forename: Oscar L
authors.initials: OL
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.affiliation: e Department of Biostatistics, Graduate School of Public Health , University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh , PA , United States.
authors.forename: John W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: f Department of Medicine and Division of Epidemiology and Community Health , University of Minnesota , Minneapolis , MN , United States.
authors.forename: Kristine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ensrud
authors.affiliation: a Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health , University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh , PA , United States.
authors.forename: Jane A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Cauley
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003704:Dementia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D012306:Risk; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Aging; community sample; epidemiology