Martha C. Whiteman

Ageing: Cognitive change and the APOE ɛ4 allele

There is a marked variation in whether people retain sufficient cognitive function to maintain their quality of life and independence in old age, even among those without dementia, so it would be valuable to identify the determinants of normal age-related cognitive change. We have retested non-demented 80-year-olds who were participants in the Scottish Mental Survey of 1932, and find that the variation in their non-pathological cognitive change from age 11 to 80 is related to their apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype. This effect of the APOE ɛ4 allele on normal cognitive ageing may be mediated by a mechanism that is at least partly independent of its predisposing effect towards Alzheimers disease.

Cognitive change and the APOE epsilon 4 allele.

There is a marked variation in whether people retain sufficient cognitive function to maintain their quality of life and independence in old age, even among those without dementia, so it would be valuable to identify the determinants of normal age-related cognitive change. We have retested non-demented 80-year-olds who were participants in the Scottish Mental Survey of 1932, and find that the variation in their non-pathological cognitive change from age 11 to 80 is related to their apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype. This effect of the APOE ɛ4 allele on normal cognitive ageing may be mediated by a mechanism that is at least partly independent of its predisposing effect towards Alzheimers disease.

Cognitive decline and markers of inflammation and hemostasis: The Edinburgh Artery Study

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether circulating markers of activated inflammation and hemostasis are associated with cognitive decline in older people.

Pronunciation of irregular words is preserved in dementia, validating premorbid IQ estimation

The National Adult Reading Test (NART), used to estimate premorbid mental ability, involves pronunciation of irregular words. The authors demonstrate that, after controlling for age 11 IQ test scores, mean NART scores do not differ in people with and without dementia. The correlation between age 11 IQ and NART scores at about age 80 was similar in the groups with (r = 0.63, p < 0.001) and without (r = 0.60, p < 0.001) dementia. These findings validate the NART as an estimator of premorbid ability in mild to moderate dementia.

Social support and successful aging: investigating the relationships between lifetime cognitive change and life satisfaction

Abstract. Social networks or support may contribute to successful aging. The Lothian Birth Cohort 1921 had their mental ability assessed at age 11 and 79. Almost 500 participants also rated their life satisfaction, social networks, and support at age 80. After controlling for age-11 IQ, sex, years of education, and social class, loneliness was the only social network/support characteristic adding significantly to the prediction of age-79 IQ, explaining about 2% of the variance; in old age, increased loneliness was associated with lower cognitive ability. Social network/support factors accounted for 23% of the variance in satisfaction with life ratings, with the greatest contributions from reduced loneliness (~12%) and having someone to talk to (~6%). Social network/support characteristics explained a greater proportion of the variance in life satisfaction ratings compared with later life cognition, although an individuals level of loneliness emerged as the largest single social support predictor of both ...

Relationships between ability and personality:does intelligence contribute positively to personal and social adjustment?

Intelligence/personality associations were studied in four large datasets. Correlations between general ability (g) and major personality traits were generally consistent with previous findings. For other traits, an interpretation of the correlation patterning is that traits classifiable as adaptive in terms of personal and social adjustment have positive correlations with g, whilst maladaptive traits have negative correlations. Regression modelling confirmed these associations and structural equation modelling of selected traits showed that Neuroticism acts as a mediator of g on the outcome. Non-linear relationships between intelligence and personality were not found. In two of the datasets the correlation between Neuroticism and Psychoticism decreased with ability level, and the correlation between fluid and crystallised ability increased with level of Neuroticism.

Cognitive change and the APOE ε4 allele

There is a marked variation in whether people retain sufficient cognitive function to maintain their quality of life and independence in old age, even among those without dementia, so it would be valuable to identify the determinants of normal age-related cognitive change. We have retested non-demented 80-year-olds who were participants in the Scottish Mental Survey of 1932, and find that the variation in their non-pathological cognitive change from age 11 to 80 is related to their apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype. This effect of the APOE ɛ4 allele on normal cognitive ageing may be mediated by a mechanism that is at least partly independent of its predisposing effect towards Alzheimers disease.

Apolipoprotein E gene variability and cognitive functions at age 79: A follow-up of the Scottish Mental Survey of 1932

Apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype is a possible influence on nonpathological cognitive aging. The authors studied 462 community-dwelling, 79-year-old people born in 1921, whose childhood IQ had been assessed in the Scottish Mental Survey of 1932 (Scottish Council for Research in Education, 1933). Adjusting for sex, childhood IQ, and self-reported illnesses, the authors found that those with an APOE e4 allele had significantly lower Wechsler Logical Memory (D. Wechsler, 1987) scores than those without an e4 allele. Those people with APOE s2/e3 genotypes had significantly higher Wechsler Logical Memory scores than e3/s3, who were significantly higher than e3/e4. Neither nonverbal reasoning nor verbal fluency were affected. In this sample, APOE genotype contributed to verbal memory in old age.

Five factor model personality traits and all-cause mortality in the Edinburgh Artery Study cohort.

Objective: To examine whether personality traits are related to all-cause mortality in a general adult population in Scotland. Methods: The Edinburgh Artery Study began in 1987 to 1988 by recruiting 1592 men and women aged 55 to 74 years to be followed-up for atherosclerotic diseases. The NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) was completed by 1035 surviving participants in 1995 to 1996. Deaths from all causes were examined in relation to personality traits and social and physical risk factors for mortality. Results: During follow-up, 242 (37.1%) men and 165 (24.6%) women died. For the whole sample, there was a 28% lower rate of all-cause mortality for each 1 SD increase in NEO-FFI openness (95% CI, 0.61–0.84) and a 18% lower rate of all-cause mortality for each 1 SD increase in NEO-FFI conscientiousness (95% CI, 0.70–0.97). In men, the risk of all-cause mortality was 0.63 (95% CI, 0.5–10.78) for a 1 SD increase in openness and 0.75 (95% CI, 0.61–0.91) for a 1 SD increase in conscientiousness. In women, none of the personality domains were significantly associated with all-cause mortality. Well fitting structural equation models in men (n = 652) showed that the relationships between conscientiousness and openness and all-cause mortality were not substantially explained by smoking, or other variables in the models. Conclusion: High conscientiousness and openness may be protective against all-cause mortality in men. Further investigations are needed on the mechanisms of these associations, and the influence of personality traits on specific causes of death. BMI = body mass index; SBP = systolic blood pressure; NEO-FFI = NEO Five-Factor Inventory.

Personality and social predictors of atherosclerotic progression: Edinburgh Artery Study

Objective The aim of this study was to determine whether personality traits and social factors predict the progression of peripheral atherosclerosis. Progression was assessed using the objective, noninvasive ankle brachial pressure index (ABPI). Methods In the Edinburgh Artery Study, 1592 men and women were randomly sampled from the general population, and their ABPI was measured at baseline and at the end of a 5-year follow-up period. A low ABPI suggests the presence of peripheral arterial disease. The revised Bedford-Foulds Personality Deviance Scale was administered at baseline to assess submissiveness and hostility. Data on other baseline risk factors, including physiological and social factors, were also collected. Results Change in ABPI over 5 years was negatively correlated with age in both men and women (men, r = −0.10; women, r = −0.25). In multiple linear regression models, smoking, alcohol consumption, and submissiveness together accounted for 2% of the variance in ABPI change in men; in women, only age was related to change, accounting for 6% of the variance. Well-fitting structural equation models in both sexes showed that age influenced baseline ABPI and change in ABPI; that smoking and social deprivation directly affected baseline ABPI; and that the effect of hostility, and some of the effect of social deprivation, was mediated by smoking. Conclusions Social and personality factors were associated directly with baseline ABPI levels and indirectly with progression of atherosclerosis. Structural equation models revealed that associations among personality, social factors, and atherosclerotic progression were complex, involving mediation through other variables.