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Mnemonics Usage and Cognitive Decline in Age-Associated Memory Impairment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2005

Gary W. Small ,
Asenath La Rue ,
Scott Komo  and
Andrea Kaplan
Gary W. Small
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, USA Center on Aging, University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, USA Veterans Affairs Medical Center, West Los Angeles, California, USA
Asenath La Rue
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, USA Department of Psychiatry, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Scott Komo
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, USA
Andrea Kaplan
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, USA
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Abstract

To determine predictors of cognitive deterioration, the authors performed baseline and 1- to 5-year follow-up (mean ± SD = 2.5 ± 1.2 years) neuropsychological assessments on 36 persons (mean age ± SD = 62.1 ± 8.0; range = 50 to 81 years) with age-associated memory impairment. Subjects were recruited from a larger group of volunteers, had minimal medical comorbidity, and 25 of them had a family history of Alzheimer's disease. Baseline age and a subjective memory measure indicating reported frequency of mnemonics usage were significant decline predictors. Subjects reporting more frequent mnemonics use at baseline were more likely to show objective cognitive decline at follow-up. Baseline full-scale IQ, educational level, and family history of Alzheimer's disease failed to predict decline. These findings suggest that although age is the strongest decline predictor in some people with age-associated memory impairment, self-perception of memory function may also predict subsequent cognitive loss.

Type
Studies on Dementia
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 9 , Issue 1 , March 1997 , pp. 47 - 56
Copyright
© 1997 International Psychogeriatric Association

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