P3‐213: Negative Affect Associated With Increased Incidence of Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia in Non‐Depressed Postmenopausal Women
Year: 2016
Type: article
Abstract: Positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) reflect subjective mood. Although related to depression and anxiety disorders, these dimensions are constructs representing broader affective states. Previous research has found that elevated depressive symptoms (DS) are associated with increased risk of incident mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and probable dementia. Less is known about the relationship between affective states and incident cognitive impairment. The goal of the present study was to examine relationships between baseline PA and NA and incident MCI or probable dementia in non-depressed women. Baseline PA (range: 10-50; M = 36.075 ± 0.14) and NA (range: 10-50; M= 16.17 ± 0.13) were assessed in postmenopausal women (N = 2265; mean baseline age = 73.8 years) from the Women’s Health Initiative Study of Cognitive Aging (WHISCA) using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Women were followed annually for a mean period of 11.3 years. MCI and probable dementia were classified by a central adjudication committee. After excluding women with elevated DS at baseline (N=128), higher NA scores were associated with a slightly elevated risk of MCI (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.04, p < .001, 95% CI [1.02, 1.07]) and probable dementia (HR = 1.03, p = .02, 95% CI [1.00, 1.06]) in unadjusted models. Hazard ratios represent relative risk associated with each point increase in PA or NA. After adjusting for important covariates including age, education, sociodemographic, lifestyle and vascular factors, global cognition, depressive symptoms, and hormone therapy assignment at baseline, higher NA was associated with incident MCI (HR = 1.03, p = 0.03, 95% CI [1.00, 1.06]), but not probable dementia alone (p = .2). Associations of PA with MCI and probable dementia were not significant. This is the first known study to demonstrate that greater negative affect, even in the absence of elevated DS, is associated with risk of MCI. These findings suggest that affective patterns and related personality traits (e.g., neuroticism) may be an important and potentially modifiable risk factor for age-related cognitive decline.
Source: Alzheimer s & Dementia
Institutions: University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Medical College of Wisconsin, Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Wake Forest University, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Brown University, University of Washington, National Institute on Aging
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2538628704