Examining Memory Performance in Senior Adults: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study

• Published in: Applied sciences 2024-06, Vol.14 (11), p.4930
• Main Authors: Lago-Priego, Noelia, Otero-González, Iván, Pacheco-Lorenzo, Moisés, Fernández-Iglesias, Manuel J, Dosil-Díaz, Carlos, Bugallo-Carrera, César, Gandoy-Crego, Manuel, Anido-Rifón, Luis
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Aged; Cognitive ability; Comparative analysis; Cross-sectional studies; Dementia; depression; elderly; free recall; Geriatrics; Medical personnel; Memory; Mental depression; mild cognitive impairment; Population; Professional ethics; Professionals; Sociodemographics; subjective memory complaints; Surveys
• ISSN: 2076-3417; 2076-3417
• DOI: 10.3390/app14114930

Development of screening tools and assessment protocols to identify individuals at risk of cognitive decline and depression, allowing for early intervention and support. Ultimately, enhance the quality of life and cognitive health for older adults by guiding the development of targeted interventions and support strategies. This study investigates memory performance among 73 adults over 60 years old, utilising Memory Impairment Screening (MIS) and self-reported memory failures assessed by the Memory Failures in Everyday questionnaire (MFE-28). Participants were divided into four groups: individuals with depressive symptoms, healthy individuals, individuals with depressive symptoms and mild cognitive impairment, and individuals with mild cognitive impairment only. Groups were organised according to their Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) scores. The study aims to analyse MIS scores and self-reported memory failures across these groups as measured with the 28-item Memory Failures Everyday (MFE-28) scale. Correlation analyses were conducted for the complete sample, while variance analyses were carried out for the four classification groups above. Bivariate linear regression analysis was carried out to explore how the combination of cognitive and depressive symptoms status influenced memory performance. Results show that subjective memory complaints and memory performance are related to depressive symptoms, and the latter is associated with worse cognitive performance. Lastly, our study highlights that individuals with mild cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms exhibit worse performance in recall tasks and report more subjective memory complaints compared to those with mild cognitive impairment alone.