Table 1.
Reviewed Articles with Significant Relationships Between Dementia Exposure and SCD
| Reference | Sample type, location | Sample size; age (SD) | Study design | Dementia exposure | SCD measures (# items) | Quality appraisal | Analyses and general conclusions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Section 1: Exclusive familial exposure (Articles 1–4) | |||||||
| 1. Bell et al. (2022) | Community (United States) | n = 3,809; 66.1 (1.9) | Longitudinal | First degree | How would you rate your memory at the present time? Compared with (previous wave/two years ago), would you say your memory is better now, about the same, or worse than it was then? |
Good quality | Family history of dementia was associated with greater perceived memory decline (OR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.42, p ≤ .05). |
| 2. Bharambe and Larner (2018) | Clinic (United Kingdom) | n = 89; 71.3 (8.1) | Cross-sectional | Family history | In general, how would you rate your memory? | Good quality | Using χ2 analysesa, participants with functional cognitive disorder were more likely to be classified with SMC (p < .01) and have dementia exposure (p < .001). |
| 3. Freitas et al. (2012), | Community (Portugal) | n = 650; 55.8 (15.1) | Cross-sectional | First degree | SMC scale (10-items) | Good quality | Family history correlated with SMC participant scores (r = 0.127, p < .01), but not SMC informant scores (r = 0.095, p = . 24). |
| 4. Haussmann et al. (2018) | Clinic and community (Germany) | aMCI: n = 35; 70.3 (6.5) CN: n = 40; 66.2 (7.5) |
Cross-sectional | First degree | Do you experience subjective memory impairment? | Good quality | There was no difference in family history between CN and aMCI (p = .54)a. An interaction between group and family history in SMI (F = 4.6, p = .035) was found: CN without exposure had less severity of SMI (p < .001), while CN with family history did not differ from rates found in aMCI (p = .85). |
| Section 2: Familial and nonfamilial exposure (Articles 5 and 6) | |||||||
| 5. Ostergren et al. (2017) | Community (United States) | n = 1,641; 64.4 (0.4) | Cross-sectional | First degree; spouse or someone they know | How would you rate your memory at the present time? | Good quality | SMC was associated with perceived risk of AD (r = 0.127, p < .01). This association was moderated by exposure. Perceived risk was greater among those with spousal or 1st degree exposure (b = 0.27, 95% CI: 10.45); knowing someone did not differ from no exposure (b = 0.11, 95% CI: −0.01, 0.26). |
| 6. Vitaliano et al. (2017) | Community (United States) | Caregiver: n = 122; 71.7 (8.9) Noncaregiver: n = 117; 70.2 (7.2) |
Longitudinal; subjective cognition measured once. | Spouse | “difficulties (‘yes–no’) in concentration, attention, forgetting, disorientation, not completing things, reacting slowly, confusion, and making mistakes” (p. 640). | Good quality | Using mean difference comparisons (i.e., ANCOVA), CGs reported greater problems with subjective cognition, F(1, 224) = 6.61, p < .01, η2 = 0.03. |
Notes: AD = Alzheimer’s disease; aMCI = amnestic mild cognitive impairment; ANCOVA = analysis of covariance; CN = cognitively normal; SCD = subjective cognitive decline; SIME = short inventory of memory experiences; SMC = subjective memory complaints; SMI = subjective memory impairment; Quality appraisal determined using the LEGEND framework; first degree = parent, child, and sibling; second degree = aunt, uncle, grandparent, niece, and nephew.
aIndicates that only significance values, not specific results and estimates (e.g., χ2, t-test, F-value, etc.), were presented.