Ren Xi, Edwards Landon, Mann Eric, Horiuchi Satoshi, Tsuchiyagaito Aki
Laureate Institute for Brain Research, 6655 South Yale Ave. Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, 74136, USA.
Department of Social and Clinical Psychology, Hijiyama University, Hiroshima, Japan.
BMC Psychiatry. 2025 Aug 7;25(1):773. doi: 10.1186/s12888-025-07225-0.
As the global population ages, understanding cognitive dysfunction, including Alzheimer's Disease and other forms of dementia, is crucial. With the growing prevalence of these disorders, it is essential to identify and understand potential factors that maintain cognitive function and potentially delay severe cognitive dysfunction. This study examined the roles of repetitive negative thinking (RNT) and reflection in subjective cognitive dysfunction among older adults, with an additional consideration of their association with depressive symptoms. RNT, which is common in depression, has been associated with cognitive impairments. However, its unique influence on cognitive dysfunction is unclear. Conversely, reflection, considered to protect against adverse cognitive outcomes, is less explored. Using the Rumination Response Scale (RRS), we hypothesize that RNT may be more strongly linked to cognitive dysfunction than reflection, even when controlling for depressive symptoms. Two-hundred and seventy-six older adults (137 male, 139 female) from Japan participated in the study, providing measures of RRS-brooding (an index of RNT), RRS-reflection (an index of reflection), depressive symptoms, and self-reported cognitive dysfunction. The results showed higher reflection, but not RNT, was associated with greater subjective cognitive dysfunction [β = 0.28, p =.03], even after controlling for depressive symptoms. Importantly, the association between reflection and cognitive dysfunction demonstrated sex differences, with reflection significantly accounting for cognitive dysfunction in female [β = 0.46, p =.01] but not in male. These findings highlight the significance of evaluating specific subtypes of repetitive thoughts and sex differences when investigating the association with perceived cognitive dysfunction. Future research should continue to explore the mechanisms underlying these associations and the prevention and treatment of cognitive dysfunctions.
随着全球人口老龄化，了解认知功能障碍，包括阿尔茨海默病和其他形式的痴呆症至关重要。随着这些疾病的患病率不断上升，识别和理解维持认知功能并可能延缓严重认知功能障碍的潜在因素至关重要。本研究考察了反复消极思维（RNT）和反思在老年人主观认知功能障碍中的作用，并额外考虑了它们与抑郁症状的关联。RNT在抑郁症中很常见，与认知障碍有关。然而，其对认知功能障碍的独特影响尚不清楚。相反，被认为可预防不良认知结果的反思则较少被研究。使用反刍反应量表（RRS），我们假设即使在控制抑郁症状的情况下，RNT与认知功能障碍的联系可能比反思更强。来自日本的276名老年人（137名男性，139名女性）参与了这项研究，提供了RRS沉思（RNT的一个指标）、RRS反思（反思的一个指标）、抑郁症状和自我报告的认知功能障碍的测量数据。结果显示，即使在控制抑郁症状后，较高的反思而非RNT与更大的主观认知功能障碍相关[β = 0.28，p = 0.03]。重要的是，反思与认知功能障碍之间的关联存在性别差异，反思在女性中显著解释了认知功能障碍[β = 0.46，p = 0.01]，而在男性中则不然。这些发现凸显了在调查与感知到的认知功能障碍的关联时，评估反复思考的特定亚型和性别差异的重要性。未来的研究应继续探索这些关联背后的机制以及认知功能障碍的预防和治疗方法。
