Relationships between cognitive changes and narrative speech in aging

Se estudian las relaciones entre cambios cognitivos y capacidad narrativa en 80 sujetos sanos de entre 40 y 91 años, considerando su nivel académico, hábitos lectoescritores y de cálculo, y habilidad verbal. Los resultados muestran cambios significativos con la edad en cantidad, cohesión y cantidad y calidad del contenido de las narraciones. Las variables que mejor predicen esos cambios son las de velocidad de procesamiento, las de habilidad verbal y las de memoria operativaThis paper describes a study of the relationships between cognitive changes and narrative capacity in 80 healthy subjects aged 40- 91 years. Academic level, literate and arithmetic habits and verbal ability were also considered. Our results showed age-related changes on speech quantity, cohesion, and quantity and quality of informative content of narratives. Processing speed, verbal ability and working memory are showed as the best predictors of these changesEste artículo ha sido financiado por la DGCIT (ref.: PB95-0590)S

Adaptation and validation of aged adults’ adaptation scale to their residence (EAPAR) in Chile

Background: The adaptation of older people to nursing homes may be problematic. Scales to assess the degree of adaptation are required. Aim: To adapt and evaluate the psychometric characteristics of the Scale of Adaptation of the Older Adults to their Residence (EAPAR) in the Chilean population. Material and Methods: EAPAR and self-esteem scales were applied to 106 people aged 79 ± 7 years (57% women) living in nursing homes. Reliability was measured using Cronbach’s alpha. Results: The instrument was adequately understood by the Chilean participants. In the content validity, the structure of the scale appears homogeneous and with an acceptable statistical significance. Conclusions: EAPAR is a reliable and valid instrument to be used by health professionalsEl presente trabajo ha sido financiado por la Dirección de investigación de la Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción del proyecto número INIDIN 08/2017 Sistema Internacional de unidades (SI)S

Effects of Cognitive Reserve on Cognitive Performance in a Follow-Up Study in Older Adults With Subjective Cognitive Complaints. The Role of Working Memory

Objective: Analyze the effects of CR on cognitive performance in adults with subjective cognitive complaints at follow-up. Method: We analyzed the factorial structure of the three constructs defined in cognitive performance (Episodic memory, Working memory, and General cognitive performance) separately to search for evidence of the invariance of the measurement model. We then developed four structural nested models to analyze the relationship between CR and cognitive performance, measured at baseline and after approximately 18 months, in 266 participants older than 50 years with subjective cognitive complaints. Results: The nested models revealed the following main results: direct effects of CR on all cognitive constructs at baseline and also indirect effects on the same constructs at follow-up, and indirect effects of CR on other cognitive constructs at follow-up via working memory at follow-up. Conclusion: The findings show that the proposed model is useful for measuring the influence of CR on cognitive performance in follow-up studies and that CR has a positive influence on cognitive performance at follow-up via working memory. CR may enhance mechanisms of information processing, favoring performance of tasks involving other cognitive constructs in older adults with subjective cognitive complaintsThis work was financially supported by the Spanish Directorate General of Scientific and Technical Research (Project PSI2014- 55316-C3-1-R) and by the Galician Government (Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Ordenación Universitaria; axudas para a consolidación e estruturación de unidades de investigación competitivas do Sistema Universitario de Galicia; GRC (GI-1807-USC); Ref: ED431-2017/27) through FEDER foundsS

Prevalence of Cognitive Frailty, Do Psychosocial-Related Factors Matter?

Cognitive frailty (CF) is a topic of growing interest with implications for the study of preventive interventions in aging. Nevertheless, little research has been done to assess the influence of psychosocial variables on the risk of CF. Our objectives were to estimate the prevalence of CF in a Spanish sample and to explore the influence of psychosocial variables in this prevalence. Physical frailty and cognitive, functional, psychosocial, and socio-demographic aspects were assessed in a sample of 285 participants over 60 years. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were carried out. Aprevalence of 21.8% (95% CI 17.4-26.9) was established when both frail and pre-frail conditions were included, and a prevalence of 3.2% (95% CI 1.7-5.9) if only frail individuals were considered. Age, educational level, profession and psychological well-being variables significantly predicted CF. Frailty and pre-frailty are high-prevalence health conditions in older adults influenced by socio-demographic, socio-educative and affective factors

Dual‑task performance in old adults: cognitive, functional, psychosocial and socio‑demographic variables

Background Dual tasking, or the ability to executing two tasks simultaneously, has been used in recent research to predict cognitive impairments, physical frailty, and has been linked with cognitive frailty in old adults. Aim This study aimed to determine age-related variables can predict dual-task (DT) performance in the older population. Methods A total of 258 healthy community-dwelling participants + 60 years were assessed in relation to their functional capacity, health, well-being, social support and years of education. Performance of a cognitive (Fluency) task and a cognitive– motor (Tracking) task was recorded under single and DT conditions. Multiple linear regression analysis was carried out for each dependent variable, in separate models including cognitive, functional and psychosocial variables. Results Performance in Fluency in DT conditions was predicted by cognitive variables, whereas performance in Tracking DT conditions was predicted by positive interaction, health status, age and motor variables. Discussion The findings suggest that a wide range of cognitive, psychological, social, physical and functional variables influence cognitive and motor performance in aging. Conclusion DT methodology is sensitive to different age-related changes and could be related to frailty conditions in agingOpen Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. This research was funded by through FEDER founds by the Spanish Directorate General of Scientific and Technical Research (Project Ref. PSI2014–55316-C3–1-R); and by the Galician Government (Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Ordenación Universitaria; axudas para a consolidación e estruturación de unidades de investigación competitivas do Sistema Universitario de Galicia; GI-1807-USC: Ref. ED431–2017/27)S

Puntuaciones normativas del Cambridge Cognitive ExaminationRevised en población española sana

Background: The Cambridge Cognitive Examination-Revised (CAMCOG) is widely used in clinical, epidemiological and research studies, but normative scores for age and educational level have not yet been established in the Spanish population. Method: The CAMCOG-R was administered to 730 adult members ofthe community, aged between 50-97 years, living throughout the region of Galicia. Initial screening yielded provisional identifi cation of cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms. The fi nal sample consisted of 643 cognitively healthy adults. The following instruments were administered: a questionnaire concerning socio-demographic and clinical data, the Charlson’s Comorbidity Index, the Mini-Mental State Examination, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), the Lawton and Brody Index, a short version of the Geriatric Depression Scale, and the CASP-19 quality of life scale. Results: Internal consistency values of the CAMCOG-R were similar to those obtained for the original scale. The convergent validity between MoCA and CAMCOG-R was good, and the divergent validity between CASP-19 and CAMCOG-R was higher than the recommended value. Percentiles and inter-quartile range for age and educational level were calculated. Conclusions: Psychometric indexes showed that the CAMCOG-R is a reliable and valid instrument, which can generally avoid a ceiling effect. The study fi ndings confi rm the importance of specifying the normative data by age and educational levelAntecedentes: el CAMCOG es una escala de uso frecuente para el diagnóstico y la investigación de las demencias pero hasta el momento no disponemos de puntuaciones normativas por edad y nivel educativo en población española. Método: se administró el CAMCOG-R a 730 adultos, de entre 50-97 años, que vivían de manera independiente en Galicia. Un cribado inicial permitió excluir a participantes con deterioro cognitivo y/o síntomas depresivos, quedando la muestra fi nal conformada por 643 adultos. Se administraron los siguientes instrumentos: un cuestionario de datos sociodemográfi cos y clinicos, el índice de Comorbilidad de Charlson’s, el Mini-Mental State Examination, el Montreal Cognitive Assessment, la escala Lawton-Brody, la Escala de Depresión Geriátrica y la escala de calidad de vida CASP19. Resultados: los valores de consistencia interna fueron similares a los obtenidos con la escala original. La validez convergente con el MoCA fue buena y la divergente con el CASP-19 superó los valores recomendados. Se informa de percentiles y rangos inter-cuartil para cada grupo de edad y nivel educativo. Conclusiones: el CAMCOG-R es un instrumento fi able y válido con capacidad para evitar el efecto techo. Nuestros resultados confi rman la importancia de disponer de datos normativos por edad y nivel educativoThis work was supported by the Spanish Directorate General for Science and Technology under projects SEJ2007-67964-CO2-01, PSI2010-22224-C03-01 and by the Galician Government: Consellería de Industria e Innovación/Economía e Industria (PGIDIT07PXIB211018PR; 10PXIB2011070 PR)S

Longitudinal Assessment of Verbal Learning and Memory in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: Practice Effects and Meaningful Changes

Objectives: To identify learning effects and meaningful changes in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) at a follow-up assessment. Method: The Spanish version of the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) was administered to a sample of 274 adults of age over 50 years with subjective memory complains (SMC), including single and multiple domain aMCI groups and participants with SMC but without cognitive impairment (SMC group). The Wilcoxon test was used to compare results at baseline and after 18 months in short and long recall, and standardized regression-based (SRB) methods were used to study meaningful changes. Results: Scores were significantly higher at follow-up for short and long-delayed recall in all groups indicating generalized practice effect. SRB scores indicated a significant decline in recall in a higher proportion of participants with aMCI than in SMC group. Discussion: Patients with multiple and single domain aMCI benefit from practice in a verbal learning memory test. The SRB approach revealed a higher incidence of meaningful decline in short and long-delay recall and recognition in the aMCI groups than in the SMC group. Specifically, compared to SMC participants, single-domain aMCI individuals declined in a higher proportion in all measures, and multiple-domain aMCI individuals in long delay free recallThis work was financially supported by the Spanish Directorate General of Scientific and Technical Research (Project PSI2014-55316-C3-1-R) and by the Galician Government (Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Ordenación Universitaria; axudas para a consolidación e Estruturación de unidades de investigación competitivas do Sistema universitario de Galicia; GPC2014/047) through FEDER foundsS

Cognitive reserve and mental health in cognitive frailty phenotypes: Insights from a study with a Portuguese sample

Background: Research on prevalence of cognitive frailty phenotypes in community-dwelling older adults in different countries is important to estimate their prevalence and to determine the influence of cognitive reserve and mental health in order to prevent frailty. The aims of this study were to estimate the prevalence of reversible and potentially reversible cognitive frailty (R-CF, PR-CF) in a Portuguese sample of old adults and explore the associations between these phenotypes and demographic, comorbidity, social support, cognitive reserve and mental health factors. Methods: We assessed frailty (Fried criteria) in 250 community-dwelling older adults (179 women) aged 60 years or over (mean 71.04 years) without dementia, neurological or psychiatric disorders. Subjective cognitive decline and Mild cognitive impairment were diagnosed according to standard criteria. The questionnaires Charlson Index, Medical Outcomes Study Social Support, Cognitive Reserve Index and General Health were used for assessing comorbidity, social support, cognitive reserve and mental health, respectively. Results: Prevalence of R-CF was 14%, and that of PR-CF, 15.2%. Cognitive frailty profiles differed significantly in relation to education, comorbidity, mental health, and cognitive reserve, but not in age or sex. Multivariate logistic regression showed that age, sex, comorbidity, social support, mental health, and cognitive reserve together predicted R-CF and PR-CF (90% specificity 75% sensitivity) with significant OR for mental health and cognitive reserve. Discussion: Cognitive reserve and mental health are important factors predicting R-CF and PR-CF. We recommend assessing these factors for early detection of cognitive frailty and promoting psychological well-being and lifestyles that increase cognitive reserve in adultsThis work was financially supported by ERDF funds through the National Research Agency (Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities; Projects Ref. PSI2017-89389-C2-1-R and PID2020-114521RB-C21) and the Galician Government [GRC (GI-1807-USC); Ref: ED431-2017/27; ED431C-2021/04]; all with ERDF/FEDER fundsS

Using an overlapping time interval strategy to study diagnostic instability in mild cognitive impairment subtypes.

(1) Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a diagnostic label in which stability is typically low. The aim of this study was to examine temporal changes in the diagnosis of MCI subtypes by using an overlapping-time strategy; (2) Methods: The study included 435 participants aged over 50 years with subjective cognitive complaints and who completed at least one follow-up evaluation. The probability of transition was estimated using Bayesian odds ratios; (3) Results: Within the different time intervals, the controls with subjective cognitive complaints represented the largest proportion of participants, followed by sda-MCI at baseline and in the first five intervals of the follow-up, but not in the last eight intervals. The odds ratios indicated higher odds of conversion to dementia in sda-MCI and mda-MCI groups relative to na-MCI (e.g., interval 9-15 months-sda-MCI OR = 9 and mda-MCI OR = 3.36; interval 27-33-sda-MCI OR = 16 and mda-MCI = 5.06; interval 42-48-sda-MCI OR = 8.16 and mda-MCI = 3.45; interval 45-51-sda-MCI OR = 3.31 and mda-MCI = 1); (4) Conclusions: Notable patterns of instability consistent with the current literature were observed. The limitations of a prospective approach in the study of MCI transitions are discussed