Association of Subjective Cognitive Concerns With Performance on Mobile App-Based Cognitive Assessment in Cognitively...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Gerontology
• Digital Health

Background:

• Subjective cognitive concerns (SCCs) may indicate early dementia symptoms.
• Mobile app-based cognitive assessments offer remote screening potential for preclinical dementia.
• The relationship between SCC and mobile assessment metrics requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the association between SCC and adherence, satisfaction, and performance in mobile app cognitive assessments.
• To evaluate mobile app assessment sensitivity to subtle cognitive changes in older adults.

Main Methods:

• 122 cognitively unimpaired older adults used the Mobile Monitoring of Cognitive Change (M2C2) app for 8 days.
• M2C2 included digital tasks for working memory, processing speed, and episodic memory.
• Regression analyses assessed SCC's relationship with adherence, satisfaction, and performance, controlling for covariates.

Main Results:

• SCC was associated with lower adherence (ß=-.20, P=.37) but not satisfaction or motivation.
• Higher SCC predicted worse episodic memory performance (ß=-.20, P=.02).
• SCC showed an initial decline followed by improvement in working memory over time.

Conclusions:

• SCCs correlate with diminished memory performance and adherence in mobile cognitive assessments.
• Mobile app assessments demonstrate sensitivity to subtle cognitive changes.
• These findings have implications for early dementia detection and intervention strategies.