TY - JOUR T1 - Feeling Older and the Development of Cognitive Impairment and Dementia. JF - J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci Y1 - 2017 A1 - Yannick Stephan A1 - Angelina R Sutin A1 - Martina Luchetti A1 - Antonio Terracciano KW - Aged KW - Aged, 80 and over KW - Aging KW - Alzheimer disease KW - Cognitive Dysfunction KW - depression KW - disease progression KW - Female KW - Health Behavior KW - Humans KW - Life Style KW - Likelihood Functions KW - Logistic Models KW - Longitudinal Studies KW - Male KW - Risk Factors KW - Self Concept AB -

Objective: Subjective age is a biopsychosocial marker of aging associated with a range of outcomes in old age. In the domain of cognition, feeling older than one's chronological age is related to lower cognitive performance and steeper cognitive decline among older adults. The present study examines whether an older subjective age is associated with the risk of incident cognitive impairment and dementia.

Method: Participants were 5,748 individuals aged 65 years and older drawn from the Health and Retirement Study. Measures of subjective age, cognition, and covariates were obtained at baseline, and follow-up cognition was assessed over a 2- to 4-year period. Only participants without cognitive impairment were included at baseline. At follow-up, participants were classified into one of the three categories: normal functioning, cognitive impairment without dementia (CIND), and dementia.

Results: An older subjective age at baseline was associated with higher likelihood of CIND (odds ratio [OR] = 1.18; 1.09-1.28) and dementia (OR = 1.29; 1.02-1.63) at follow-up, controlling for chronological age, other demographic factors, and baseline cognition. Physical inactivity and depressive symptoms partly accounted for these associations.

Conclusion: An older subjective age is a marker of individuals' risk of subsequent cognitive impairment and dementia.

VL - 72 UR - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27436103 IS - 6 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27436103?dopt=Abstract ER -