TY - JOUR
T1 - The Effect of Psychological Distress and Personality Traits on Cognitive Performances and the Risk of Dementia in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment
AU - Ramakers, Inez H. G. B.
AU - Honings, Steven T. H.
AU - Ponds, Rudolf W.
AU - Aalten, Pauline
AU - Kohler, Sebastian
AU - Verhey, Frans R. J.
AU - Visser, Pieter Jelle
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - Background: The relation between psychological distress, personality traits, and cognitive decline in cognitively impaired patients remains unclear. Objective: To investigate the effect of psychological distress and personality traits on cognitive functioning in subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI); and to investigate the predictive accuracy of these factors for the development of dementia. Methods: MCI patients (n = 343, age: 60.9 +/- 9.9 years, 38% female, and MMSE score: 28.1 +/- 1.9) were included from the Maastricht memory clinic. All patients underwent a standardized neuropsychological assessment (including tests for measuring mental speed (Trail Making Test (TMT) part A and Stroop Color Word Test (SCWT) part I), executive functioning (TMT part B and SCWT part III), memory (15-Word Learning Tests), and verbal fluency (1-minute animals)), CT or MRI, and blood assessment. The Dutch Personality Questionnaire (DPQ) and the 90-items Symptom Check List (SCL-90) were used to measure personality traits and psychological distress. Conversion to dementia was assessed two, five, and ten years after baseline. The mean follow-up period was 6.7 +/- 3.4 years. Results: The Psychoneuroticism score of the SCL-90 was associated with slower performances on SCWT part I and TMT part A. The subdomain Neuroticism of the DPQ was also associated with slower scores on the TMT part A. At follow-up, 85 (25.9%) subjects had developed dementia. The SCL-90 total score, and the subscales, Anxiety, Somatization, Insufficiency in thought and action, and Sleeping problems were associated with a decreased risk for developing (AD-type) dementia. Conclusion: Psychological distress negatively affected information processing speed, but was not associated with an increased risk of developing dementia in patients with MCI.
AB - Background: The relation between psychological distress, personality traits, and cognitive decline in cognitively impaired patients remains unclear. Objective: To investigate the effect of psychological distress and personality traits on cognitive functioning in subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI); and to investigate the predictive accuracy of these factors for the development of dementia. Methods: MCI patients (n = 343, age: 60.9 +/- 9.9 years, 38% female, and MMSE score: 28.1 +/- 1.9) were included from the Maastricht memory clinic. All patients underwent a standardized neuropsychological assessment (including tests for measuring mental speed (Trail Making Test (TMT) part A and Stroop Color Word Test (SCWT) part I), executive functioning (TMT part B and SCWT part III), memory (15-Word Learning Tests), and verbal fluency (1-minute animals)), CT or MRI, and blood assessment. The Dutch Personality Questionnaire (DPQ) and the 90-items Symptom Check List (SCL-90) were used to measure personality traits and psychological distress. Conversion to dementia was assessed two, five, and ten years after baseline. The mean follow-up period was 6.7 +/- 3.4 years. Results: The Psychoneuroticism score of the SCL-90 was associated with slower performances on SCWT part I and TMT part A. The subdomain Neuroticism of the DPQ was also associated with slower scores on the TMT part A. At follow-up, 85 (25.9%) subjects had developed dementia. The SCL-90 total score, and the subscales, Anxiety, Somatization, Insufficiency in thought and action, and Sleeping problems were associated with a decreased risk for developing (AD-type) dementia. Conclusion: Psychological distress negatively affected information processing speed, but was not associated with an increased risk of developing dementia in patients with MCI.
KW - Alzheimer's disease
KW - cognition
KW - dementia
KW - mild cognitive impairment
KW - neuropsychological performances
KW - neuroticism
KW - personality
KW - psychological distress
U2 - 10.3233/JAD-142493
DO - 10.3233/JAD-142493
M3 - Article
C2 - 25854926
SN - 1387-2877
VL - 46
SP - 805
EP - 812
JO - Journal of Alzheimer's Disease
JF - Journal of Alzheimer's Disease
IS - 3
ER -