State Anxiety Is Related to Cortisol Response During Cognitive Testing for Older Adults

Cognitive testing situations can be stressful for both younger and older adults, but threats of cognitive evaluation may be particularly salient among anxious older individuals as they tend to be more concerned than younger adults about their cognitive abilities and age-related cognitive decline. We examined age-related differences in the effect of anxiety on cortisol responses during cognitive testing in a sample of 27 younger (M = 19.8) and 29 older (M = 71.2) adults. Older adults with higher anxiety also had higher during-task cortisol (suggesting higher reactivity to testing) than older adults with lower anxiety and young adults. There was no effect of anxiety on cortisol for younger adults. Simultaneously examining subjective (state anxiety) and physiological (cortisol response) indicators of threat during cognitive testing appears to be especially important for older adults with higher state anxiety. The results are important for understanding cortisol reactivity, particularly in older adults. Researchers who administer cognitive tests to older adults and clinicians who work with older adults with cognitive concerns and/or anxiety may want to consider how they present their material.