Department of Psychiatry, EMGO-institute, VU Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Int Psychogeriatr. 2009 Dec;21(6):1142-7. doi: 10.1017/S1041610209990512. Epub 2009 Jul 17.
Patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and concomitant atrophy of the hippocampus may be extra vulnerable to the consequences of psychological distress, leading to greater decline in memory function. The present study investigated whether symptoms of anxiety and depression predict decline of memory function in elderly people diagnosed with early stage AD.
A sample of 44 elderly people diagnosed with early stage AD was tested on their memory function, anxiety and depression and confounding variables with one year follow-up. Episodic memory was measured with a modified Dutch version of the Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT) which measures learning and recall abilities. Linear regression analyses were used to investigate the association between anxiety and depressive symptoms and decline of memory function.
Anxiety symptoms predicted a smaller decline in learning on the AVLT. Anxiety symptoms did not predict decline on the recall of the AVLT. No association was found between depressive symptoms and decline in either learning or recall of the AVLT.
In early AD, symptoms of anxiety and depression generally seem to be mild, and do not accelerate decline of memory function over time. On the contrary, anxiety symptoms were found to predict a smaller decline in memory function.
患有阿尔茨海默病（AD）且伴有海马体萎缩的患者可能更容易受到心理困扰的影响，从而导致记忆功能下降更大。本研究调查了焦虑和抑郁症状是否会预测被诊断为早期 AD 的老年人记忆功能的下降。
对 44 名被诊断为早期 AD 的老年人进行了记忆功能、焦虑和抑郁以及一年随访的测试。使用改良的荷兰听觉言语学习测试（AVLT）测量情景记忆，该测试测量学习和回忆能力。线性回归分析用于研究焦虑和抑郁症状与记忆功能下降之间的关联。
焦虑症状预测 AVLT 学习能力下降较小。焦虑症状并未预测 AVLT 回忆能力下降。抑郁症状与 AVLT 的学习或回忆能力下降均无关联。
在早期 AD 中，焦虑和抑郁症状通常较为轻微，不会随着时间的推移加速记忆功能下降。相反，焦虑症状与记忆功能下降呈负相关。
