P3‐305: SYNERGISTIC ADVERSE EFFECTS OF WIDOWHOOD AND AMYLOID‐β ON COGNITIVE DECLINE IN COGNITIVELY NORMAL OLDER ADULTS
Year: 2019
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Widowhood has been associated with poorer health and cognitive decline in late life. However, the relationship between marital status and cognition in the context of early Alzheimer's Disease (AD) pathology is not yet understood. We hypothesized that widowhood would be associated with subtle cognitive decline in cognitively normal older adults and this association would be stronger in those with higher amyloid-β deposition. 257 cognitively normal men and women from the Harvard Aging Brain Study, ages 62-89, were classified into three groups by marital status: Married, Non-Married (divorced, separated, never married), and Widowed (Table 1). Participants underwent baseline distribution volume ratio measurements of neocortical amyloid-β using PiB-PET with partial volume correction (PiB), and received annual cognitive assessments using the Preclinical Alzheimer's Cognitive Composite (PACC) over three years. The association of marital status (reference group: Married) and PACC z-score over time was examined using linear mixed-effects models with random intercepts and slopes, controlling for age, sex, socioeconomic status, depression history, PiB, and their effect by time. A separate linear mixed model examined the multiplicative interaction of marital status and continuous PiB to estimate PACC z-score over time, controlling for the same covariates. The sample consisted of 145 Married (46% female), 77 Non-Married (73% female), and 35 Widowed (89% female) participants. Mean change in PACC z-score was 0.13 for Married, 0.07 for Non-Married and −0.16 for Widowed participants. Compared to married participants, widowed participants demonstrated PACC decline in the adjusted model (β=−0.11, p=0.0028, Cohen's d=0.22; Figure 1). PACC performance did not differ between married and non-married participants (β=−0.03, p=0.26). In the interaction model, widowhood interacting with higher PiB predicted steeper PACC decline (β=−0.23, p=0.02, Cohen's d=0.18; Figure 2). Results were similar in secondary models controlling for baseline Geriatric Depression Scale score and level of social engagement.
Source: Alzheimer s & Dementia
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2981248232