ABSTRACT

Psychosocial factors associated with dementia, such as dementia worry and personal exposure to the illness, may influence the subjective perception of cognitive abilities. The present study examined the relationship of subjective memory concerns with dementia worry, as well as the moderating effects of dementia exposure. Community-dwelling adults aged 50 and above without diagnostic history of dementia or evidence of objective memory impairment completed self-report measures assessing subjective memory concerns, subjective memory decline, dementia worry, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and dementia exposure. Results revealed that higher subjective memory concerns were associated with greater dementia worry and depressive symptoms. Those with genetic dementia exposure reported higher dementia worry than those with nongenetic or no dementia exposure. Dementia exposure moderated the relationship of subjective memory concerns with dementia worry. These findings suggest that assessments of dementia worry and dementia exposure may be valuable in clinical evaluations of older adults presenting with memory concerns.

摘要

与痴呆症相关的社会心理因素，例如痴呆症的担忧和个人对疾病的暴露，可能会影响对认知能力的主观感知。本研究检查了主观记忆问题与痴呆症担忧的关系，以及痴呆症暴露的调节作用。无痴呆诊断史或客观记忆障碍证据的 50 岁及以上社区居民完成了自我报告测量，评估主观记忆担忧、主观记忆衰退、痴呆担忧、抑郁症状、焦虑症状和痴呆暴露。结果显示，较高的主观记忆担忧与更大的痴呆担忧和抑郁症状有关。与非遗传性痴呆症或无痴呆症暴露者相比，遗传性痴呆症暴露者报告的痴呆症担忧程度更高。痴呆症暴露缓和了主观记忆问题与痴呆症担忧的关系。这些发现表明，对痴呆症担忧和痴呆症暴露的评估可能对存在记忆问题的老年人的临床评估有价值。