Differences in quantitative methods for measuring subjective cognitive decline - results from a prospective memory...

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Cognitive Neurology
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Subjective cognitive complaints are common in older adults and may signal dementia risk.
• Variability in assessment methods hinders comparisons across studies on cognitive decline.
• The influence of different measurement tools on reported cognitive decline remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the Subjective Memory Complaints Scale (SMC) and The Memory Complaint Questionnaire (MAC-Q) in patients with mild cognitive symptoms.
• To investigate the association between SMC and MAC-Q scores.
• To examine the relationship of these scales with depressive symptoms, age, and cognitive performance.

Main Methods:

• Applied SMC and MAC-Q independently to 121 memory clinic patients with mild cognitive symptoms.
• Blinded raters to results from the alternate scale.
• Assessed cognitive performance and depressive symptoms, analyzing associations with SMC and MAC-Q scores.

Main Results:

• SMC and MAC-Q showed significant association (r = 0.44, p = 0.015) with wide score ranges.
• Younger age correlated with higher SMC scores; no significant correlation found between cognitive tests and subjective decline scales.
• Depression scores significantly correlated with both SMC and MAC-Q; age did not significantly predict subjective memory variance beyond depressive symptoms.

Conclusions:

• Subjective cognitive decline measures are not interchangeable in memory clinics.
• Variability in scale application contributes to inconsistent research findings on cognitive decline.
• Careful selection of valid and relevant questions is crucial for operationalizing subjective cognitive decline.