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. 2018 Dec 20;10(1):123.
doi: 10.1186/s13195-018-0449-9.

Brain and cognitive correlates of subjective cognitive decline-plus features in a population-based cohort

Gonzalo Sánchez-Benavides  1   2 , Oriol Grau-Rivera  1 , Marc Suárez-Calvet  1 , Carolina Minguillon  1   2 , Raffaele Cacciaglia  1 , Nina Gramunt  1   2 , Carles Falcon  1   3 ; ALFA Study; Juan Domingo Gispert  1   3   4 , José Luis Molinuevo  5   6
Collaborators, Affiliations

Brain and cognitive correlates of subjective cognitive decline-plus features in a population-based cohort

Gonzalo Sánchez-Benavides et al. Alzheimers Res Ther. .

Abstract

Background: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) consists of self-perceived decline in cognition over time. The occurrence of specific additional features in SCD (so-called SCDplus) confers a higher risk of future cognitive decline. However, it is not known whether SCDplus patients have a distinct cognitive and neuroimaging profile. Therefore, we aimed to study the associations between SCDplus features and cognitive and neuroimaging profiles in a population-based cohort.

Methods: A total of 2670 individuals from the ALFA cohort underwent clinical, cognitive, and MRI (n = 532) explorations. Subjects were classified as self-reporting cognitive decline (SCD) or not self-reporting cognitive decline (non-SCD). Within the SCD group, participants were also classified according to the number of SCDplus features they met (SCD+, > 3; SCD-, ≤ 3).

Results: The prevalence of SCD in the cohort was 21.4% (55.8% SCD-, 44.2% SCD+). SCD+ subjects performed worse than non-SCD and SCD- subjects in memory and executive function. Among the SCDplus features, confirmation of decline by an informant was the best predictor of worse cognitive performance and lower gray matter volumes.

Conclusions: Our findings show that individuals with SCDplus features have a distinct cognitive and brain volumetric profile similar to that found in Alzheimer's disease and therefore support the use of the SCDplus concept as an enrichment criterion in population-based cohorts.

Keywords: Memory; Subjective cognitive decline; Voxel-based morphometry.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study was approved by the local ethics committee and all individuals gave written informed consent to participate.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Estimated marginal means for total delayed free recall (TDFR) of the Memory Binding Test (MBT) by SCD group. a Non-SCD vs SCD. b Non-SCD vs SCD subgroups by number of SCDplus features met (SCD+, SCD-). * p < 0.005, ** p < 0.0001, ns not significant, SCD self-reporting cognitive decline, non-SCD not self-reporting cognitive decline, SCD+ SCD with > 3 subjective cognitive decline plus features, SCD– SCD with ≤3 subjective cognitive decline plus features
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
SPM maps showing contrasts which showed significant differences at p < 0.001 and minimum cluster size k = 100. a Areas of decreased gray matter volume of SCD+ subjects as compared to SCD– subjects (SCD– > SCD+). b Areas of increased gray matter volume of SCD– subjects as compared to non-SCD subjects (SCD– > non-SCD)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Association between memory scores and TIV-adjusted hippocampal volumes by presence/absence of informant confirmation of decline. TDFR total delayed free recall, TIV total intracraneal volume
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Areas in which confirmation of cognitive decline by an informant is associated with decreased gray matter volume
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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