Correlates of Subjective and Mild Cognitive Impairment: Depressive Symptoms and CSF Biomarkers

AIMS To improve early diagnosis of dementia disease, this study investigates correlates of cognitive complaints and cognitive test performance in patients with subjective (SCI) and mild (MCI) cognitive impairment. METHODS Seventy patients from a memory clinic, aged 45-79, with a score of 2 (n = 23) or 3 (n = 47) on the Global Deterioration Scale, were included. CSF biomarkers [Aβ42, total tau (T-tau) and phosphorylated tau (P-tau)], depressive symptoms, cognitive performance, and complaints were examined. RESULTS Correlation analysis showed that cognitive complaints increased with decreasing cognitive performance in SCI and decreased with decreasing performance in MCI. Linear regression models revealed that cognitive complaints were associated with depressive symptoms in both groups of patients, while cognitive performance was associated with CSF Aβ42 and P-tau in SCI and with T-tau and P-tau in MCI. CONCLUSION These results suggest that depressive symptoms are associated with cognitive complaints, while degenerative changes are associated with objective cognitive decline in high-risk predementia states.