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. 2022 Oct 16;19(20):13366.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph192013366.

Emotion Recognition in a Health Continuum: Comparison of Healthy Adults of Advancing Age, Community Dwelling Adults Bearing Vascular Risk Factors and People Diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment

Glykeria Tsentidou  1   2 , Despina Moraitou  1   2   3 , Magdalini Tsolaki  2   3
Affiliations

Emotion Recognition in a Health Continuum: Comparison of Healthy Adults of Advancing Age, Community Dwelling Adults Bearing Vascular Risk Factors and People Diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment

Glykeria Tsentidou et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

The identification of basic emotions plays an important role in social relationships and behaviors linked to survival. In neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), the ability to recognize emotions may already be impaired at early stages of the disease, such as the stage of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). However, as regards vascular pathologies related to cognitive impairment, very little is known about emotion recognition in people bearing vascular risk factors (VRF). Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine emotion recognition ability in the health continuum "healthy advancing age-advancing age with VRF-MCI". The sample consisted of 106 adults divided in three diagnostic groups; 43 adults with MCI, 41 adults bearing one or more VRF, and 22 healthy controls of advancing age (HC). Since HC were more educated and younger than the other two groups, the age-group and level of educational were taken into account in the statistical analyses. A dynamic visual test was administered to examine recognition of basic emotions and emotionally neutral conditions. The results showed only a significant diagnostic group x educational level interaction as regards total emotion recognition ability, F (4, 28.910) = 4.117 p = 0.004 η2 = 0.166. High educational level seems to contribute to a high-level-emotion-recognition-performance both in healthy adults of advancing age and in adults bearing vascular risk factors. Medium educational level appears to play the same role only in healthy adults. Neither educational level can help MCI people to enhance their significantly lower emotion recognition ability.

Keywords: basic emotions; cognitive impairment; dynamic visual displays; educational level; vascular burden.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mean scores of the three diagnostic groups in Recognition of Happiness and Emotionally Neutral Condition.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The effects of Diagnostic group x Educational level interaction on Total Emotion Recognition performance.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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