Associations Between Cognitive Complaints, Memory Performance, Mood, and Amyloid-β Accumulation in Healthy Amyloid Negative Late-Midlife Individuals

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Narbutas, Justinas^{a; b} | Van Egroo, Maxime^a | Chylinski, Daphne^a | Bahri, Mohamed Ali^a | Koshmanova, Ekaterina^a | Talwar, Puneet^a | Besson, Gabriel^a | Muto, Vincenzo^a | Schmidt, Christina^{a; b} | Luxen, André^a | Balteau, Evelyne^a | Phillips, Christophe^a | Maquet, Pierre^{a; c} | Salmon, Eric^{a; b; c} | Bastin, Christine^{a; b} | Vandewalle, Gilles^a | Collette, Fabienne^{a; b; *}

Affiliations: [a] GIGA-Institute, Cyclotron Research Centre/In Vivo Imaging, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium | [b] Psychology and Neuroscience of Cognition Research Unit, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium | [c] Department of Neurology, CHU Liège, Liège, Belgium

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Prof. Fabienne Collette, GIGA-Institute, Cyclotron Research Center In Vivo Imaging, University of Liège, Allée du VI Août 8 (Bâtiment B30), 4000 Liège, Belgium. Tel.: +32 4 366 2369; E-mail: f.collette@uliege.be.

Abstract: Background:Cognitive complaints are gaining more attention as they may represent an early marker of increased risk for AD in individuals without objective decline at standard neuropsychological examination. Objective:Our aim was to assess whether cognitive complaints in late middle-aged individuals not seeking medical help are related to objective cognitive outcomes known as early markers for AD risk, concomitant affective state, and amyloid-β (Aβ) burden. Methods:Eighty-seven community-based cognitively normal individuals aged 50–69 years underwent neuropsychological assessment for global cognition, using Preclinical Alzheimer’s Cognitive Composite 5 (PACC5) score, and a more specific episodic memory measure. Affective state was based on self-assessment questionnaires for depression and anxiety. Aβ PET burden was assessed via [18F]Flutemetamol (N = 84) and [18F]Florbetapir (N = 3) uptake. Cognitive complaints were evaluated using Cognitive Difficulties Scale. Results:Higher cognitive complaints were significantly associated with lower episodic memory performance and worse affective state. Moreover, higher level of cognitive complaints was related to higher (but still sub-clinical) global Aβ accumulation (at uncorrected significance level). Importantly, all three aspects remained significant when taken together in the same statistical model, indicating that they explained distinct parts of variance. Conclusion:In healthy Aβ negative late middle-aged individuals, a higher degree of cognitive complaints is associated with lower episodic memory efficiency, more anxiety and depression, as well as, potentially, with higher Aβ burden, suggesting that complaints might signal subtle decline. Future studies should untangle how cognitive complaints in healthy aging populations are related to longitudinal changes in objective cognition and AD biomarker correlates.

Keywords: Affective disorders, amyloid, cognition, cognitive decline, episodic memory, middle-age

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-210332

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 83, no. 1, pp. 127-141, 2021