Stability in the clinical characteristics of patients with memory complaints.

The objectives of this study were to examine potential clinical and neuropsychological changes over time in non-demented patients with subjective memory complaints (<or=70 years) and to compare the patients with objective memory impairment (OMI) with those who suffer from subjective memory impairment (SMI). OMI and SMI patients did not differ regarding duration of memory problems, age or education. At baseline no differences were revealed between the OMI and SMI patients regarding self-reported cognitive deficits, self-reported worry about deficits, and symptoms of anxiety or depression. None of the patients had converted to dementia at follow-up. Eighty percent of the OMI patients and 61% of the SMI patients reported cognitive deficits to the same degree at follow-up as at baseline. Despite a significant reduction of depressive symptoms in the OMI patients, a considerable portion of both OMI and SMI patients scored above the cut off score on both anxiety and depression subscales at baseline as well as at follow-up. Our study reveals close points of similarity between patients with memory complaints, verified by test, and patients with memory complaints, not verified by test, as well as stability over time regarding important clinical aspects.