Centre for Studies on Human Stress, Mental Health Research Centre Fernand Seguin, Hospital Louis H Lafontaine, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Stress. 2012 Mar;15(2):130-7. doi: 10.3109/10253890.2011.599047. Epub 2011 Jul 31.
Depressive symptoms and memory impairments are associated with heightened stress hormone levels during aging. A factor that is related to memory deficits during aging is internalized negative aging stereotypes; the idea people have about the process of aging. In this study, we assessed the associations between internalized negative aging stereotypes, depressive symptoms, subjective and objective memory assessments, and cortisol concentration among older adults. Forty older adults aged between 58 and 85 years (18 females and 22 males; mean age ± SD: 71.25 ± 8.80 years) were assessed in this study. Measures of internalized negative aging stereotypes, depressive symptoms, and both subjective and objective memory performance were assessed. Salivary samples were obtained for measurement of cortisol concentration. Stepwise linear regressions were executed in our main analyses. Internalized negative aging stereotypes were associated with increased depressive symptoms and subjective memory complaints. No significant differences were observed for objective memory performance, or cortisol concentration. Internalized negative aging stereotypes are associated with increased depressive symptomatology and subjective complaints of memory; however, they do not predict increased cortisol concentration nor objective memory performance during aging. These results indicate that the mechanism underlying the association between internalized negative aging stereotypes and cognitive impairments may not be related to dysregulations of cortisol secretion among older adults.
抑郁症状和记忆损伤与衰老过程中应激激素水平升高有关。在衰老过程中与记忆缺陷相关的一个因素是内化的消极老化刻板印象；即人们对衰老过程的看法。在这项研究中，我们评估了内化的消极老化刻板印象、抑郁症状、主观和客观记忆评估以及皮质醇浓度之间在老年人中的相关性。这项研究评估了 40 名年龄在 58 至 85 岁之间的老年人（18 名女性和 22 名男性；平均年龄±标准差：71.25±8.80 岁）。评估了内化的消极老化刻板印象、抑郁症状以及主观和客观记忆表现。获取唾液样本以测量皮质醇浓度。在我们的主要分析中执行了逐步线性回归。内化的消极老化刻板印象与抑郁症状增加和主观记忆主诉有关。客观记忆表现或皮质醇浓度没有观察到显著差异。内化的消极老化刻板印象与抑郁症状增加和记忆主观主诉有关；但是，它们不能预测衰老过程中皮质醇浓度或客观记忆表现的增加。这些结果表明，内化的消极老化刻板印象与认知障碍之间关联的机制可能与老年人皮质醇分泌失调无关。
