Skip to main content
PMC home page
American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias logoLink to American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias
. 2001 Nov-Dec;16(6):335–343. doi: 10.1177/153331750101600604

Correlates of personal concerns about developing Alzheimer's disease among middle-aged persons

Stephen J Cutler 1, Lynne G Hodgson 2
PMCID: PMC10833986  PMID: 11765858

Abstract

We examine correlates of personal concerns about developing Alzheimer's disease (AD) among (1) adult children, 40 to 60 years of age, who have a living pare n t with a diagnosis of probable AD (N = 108), and (2) a matched comparison group of persons with no parental history of AD (N = 150). Using stepwise regression, predictors measuring subjective perceptions of memory functioning, overall family history of AD, knowledge of AD, and sociodemographic characteristics were entered into models for the total sample and each of the subsamples. The results indicate that worries about memory functioning play a consistent role in personal concerns about developing AD across both groups, but that additional pathways to personal concerns differ among individuals having and not having a parent with AD.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, familial Alzheimer's disease, perceptions, preclinical signs and symptoms, predictors

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (103.3 KB).

Contributor Information

Stephen J. Cutler, Department of Sociology, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont..

Lynne G. Hodgson, Department of Sociology, Quinnipiac University, Hamden, Connecticut..

References

  1. Ponds R , Commissaris K, Jolles J: Prevalence and covariates of subjective forgetfulness in a normal population in the Netherlands. International Journal of Aging & Human Development. 1997; 45: 207-221. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Hodgson L , Cutler S: Anticipatory dementia and well-being. American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. 1997; 12(2): 62-66. [Google Scholar]
  3. Verhaeghen P , Geraerts N, Marcoen A: Memory complaints, coping, and well-being in old age: A systemic approach. The Gerontologist. 2000; 40: 540-548. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Cutler S , Hodgson L: Anticipatory dementia: A link between memory appraisals and concerns about developing Alzheimer's disease. The Gerontologist. 1996; 36: 657-664. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bondi M , Galasko D, Salmon D, et al.: Neuropsychological function and apolipoprotein-E genotype in the preclinical detection of Alzheimer's disease. Psychology & Aging. 1999; 14: 295-303. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Holzer C , Warshaw G: Clues to early Alzheimer dementia in the outpatient setting. Archives of Family Medicine. 2000; 9: 1066-1070. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Linn R , Wolf P, Bachman D, et al.: The “preclinical phase” of probable Alzheimer's disease: A 13-year prospective study of the Framingham cohort. Archives of Neurology. 1995; 52: 485-490. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Peterson R , Smith G, Waring S, et al.: Mild cognitive impairment: Clinical characterization and outcome. Archives of Neurology. 1999; 56: 303-308. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Erber J , Szuchman L, Rothberg S: Everyday memory failure: Age differences in appraisal and attributions. Psychology & Aging. 1990; 5: 236-241. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Schiemen S : Age, physical impairment, and symptoms of anxiety: A test of mediating and moderating factors. International Journal of Aging & Human Development. 1999; 49: 43-59. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Thomas W , Thomas D: The Child in America. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1928. [Google Scholar]
  12. Roberts J : Anticipating response to predictive genetic testing for Alzheimer's disease: A survey of first-degree relatives. The Gerontologist. 2000; 40: 43-52. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Roberts J , Connell C: Illness representations among first-degree relatives of people with Alzheimer disease. Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders. 2000; 14: 129-136. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Verbrugge L : Gender and health: An update on hypotheses and evidence. Journal of Health & Social Behavior. 1985; 26: 156-182. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Zimmerman M , Hill S: Health care as a gendered system. In: Chafetz J (ed.): Handbook of the Sociology of Gender. New York: Kluewer Academic/Plenum, 1999: 483-518. [Google Scholar]
  16. Herrmann D : Questionnaires about memory. In: Harris J, Morris P (eds.): Everyday Memory, Actions, and Absentmindedness. New York: Academic Press, 1984: 133-151. [Google Scholar]
  17. Hardy M : Regression with Dummy Variables. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE Publications, 1993. [Google Scholar]
  18. Farrer L , O'Sullivan D, Cupples L, et al.: Assessment of generic risk for Alzheimer's disease among first-degree relatives. Annals of Neurology. 1989; 25: 485-493. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Silverman J , Li G, Zaccario M, et al.: Patterns of risk in firstdegree relatives of patients with Alzheimer's disease. Archives of General Psychiatry. 1994; 51: 577-586. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Green R : Commentary on “Illness representations among firstdegree relatives of people with Alzheimer disease.”Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders. 2000; 14: 127-128. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Blazer D , Hays J, Fillenbaum G, Gold D: Memory complaint as a predictor of cognitive decline: A comparison of African American and white elders. Journal of Aging & Health. 1997; 9: 171-184. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Johansson B , Allen-Burge R, Zarit S: Self-reports on memory functioning in a longitudinal study of the oldest old: Relation to current, prospective, and retrospective performance. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences. 1997; 52B: P139-P146. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Turvey C , Schultz S, Arndt S, et al.: Memory complaint in a community sample aged 70 and older. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2000; 48: 1435-1441. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Zelinski E , Burnight K, Lane C: The relationship between subjective and objective memory in the oldest old: Comparisons of findings from a representative and a convenience sample. Journal of Aging & Health. 2001; 13: 248-266. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Laditka S , Pappas-Rogich M: Anticipatory caregiving anxiety among older women and men. Journal of Women & Aging. 2001; 13: 3-18. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Ballard E , Nash F, Raiford K, Harrell L: Recruitment of black elderly for clinical research studies of dementia: The CERAD experience. The Gerontologist. 1993; 33: 561-565. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Tarlow B , Mahoney D: The cost of recruiting Alzheimer's disease caregivers for research. Journal of Aging & Health. 2000; 12: 490-510. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. McPherson S , Rue A, Fitz A, et al.: Self-reports of memory problems in relatives of patients with probable Alzheimer's disease. International Psychogeriatrics. 1995; 7: 367-376. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Hodgson L , Cutler S, Livingston K: Alzheimer's disease and symptom-seeking. American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. 1999; 14 (6): 364-373. [Google Scholar]
  30. Wexler N : Genetic jeopardy and the new clairvoyance. In Bearn A, Motulsky A, Childs B (eds.): Progress in Medical Genetics. Philadelphia: Praeger, 1985: 277-304. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Wexler N : The Tiresias complex: Huntington's disease as a paradigm of testing for late-onset disorders. Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal. 1992; 6: 2820-2825. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Siegel K , Dean L, Schrimshaw E: Symptom ambiguity among late-middle-aged and older adults with HIV. Research on Aging. 1999; 21: 595-618. [Google Scholar]

Articles from American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias are provided here courtesy of SAGE Publications

RESOURCES