Poster Session 02 Program Schedule
02/15/2024
08:00 am - 09:15 am
Room: Majestic Complex (Posters 61-120)
Poster Session 02: Aging | MCI | Neurodegenerative Disease - PART 1
Final Abstract #66
Anxiety and Cognitive Functioning Among Older Adults During Neuropsychological Assessments
Kimberly Miller, Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, United States
Michelle Kim, Biola University Rosemead School of Psychology, La Mirada, United States
Ruth Morin Ph.D., HOAG Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, Newport Beach, United States
Category: Dementia (Alzheimer's Disease)
Keyword 1: anxiety
Keyword 2: cognitive functioning
Keyword 3: dementia - Alzheimer's disease
Objective:
Anxiety is one of the most commonly reported symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) with approximately 40% of AD patients reporting anxiety symptoms (Mendez, 2021). Prior research found that anxiety fluctuates with AD patients’ awareness of their cognitive impairment (Goodarzi et al., 2019) and described an inverse relationship between anxiety and processing efficiency and executive functioning (Eysenck et al., 2007). However, limited research has been conducted to assess the awareness of anxiety in those with cognitive impairment, and the impact of anxiety on overall cognitive functioning. The current study will evaluate the relationship between patient’s self-reported anxiety compared to their caregiver’s reports of their anxiety-related symptoms. Additionally, this study analyzed the presence of anxiety symptoms via self-report measures and the relationship of these symptoms with performance on tasks of cognitive functioning in older patients seen for assessment of cognitive impairment in a neuropsychology clinic.
Participants and Methods:
Participants were selected from an outpatient neuropsychological assessment clinic database. Patients selected for this study were those who had been administered a standard impaired battery at a private clinic based on level of impairment observed through intake, collateral report, and patient chart reviews. The selected patients completed the full Dementia Rating Scale-2 (DRS-2), Geriatric Anxiety Scale (GAS), and Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Questionnaire (NPI-Q) in order to be included in this study. This resulted in 134 participants (62 male; 72 female) between the ages of 63 and 99.
Given that insight plays a role in level of anxiety and may impact responses on self-report measures, the current study firstly compared self-report measures of anxiety obtained from the Geriatric Anxiety Scale (GAS) with caregiver-report measures of anxiety related symptoms obtained from the Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Questionnaire (NPI-Q), including indicators of anxiety (e.g., agitation, rumination, etc.). The current study also evaluated the relationship between the presence of anxiety symptoms via self-report measures and performance on tasks of cognitive functioning related to Alzheimer’s Disease. Specifically, this assessment utilized the Dementia Rating Scale (DRS-2) subsections: attention, initiation/perseveration (i.e., executive functioning), and memory, respectively. These were compared to self-report measures of anxiety obtained from the Geriatric Anxiety Scale (GAS). A paired samples T-Test was used to compare levels of self-report anxiety to caregiver reports of anxiety related symptoms. Additionally, a correlational analysis compared levels of self-reported anxiety with the various measures of cognitive functioning previously described.
Results:
The paired T-test comparing self-report anxiety to caregiver report of perceived patient anxiety was statistically significant. When comparing GAS scores to the DRS-2 subsections (Initiation/Perseveration, Attention, and Memory) the correlations were 0.06, 0.130, and 0.145, respectively. These findings were not statistically significant.
Conclusions:
The study results suggest an association between self-report and caregiver report of anxiety. The self-report measures of anxiety are not correlated with the aspects of cognition analyzed in this study. This may suggest that the association between anxiety and cognition may not be as strong as those with less impaired cognitions and warrants future investigation. Future research may also include looking at caregiver reports of anxiety related to various aspects of cognition.
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