Coping patterns associations with cognitive function in older adults.

OBJECTIVE: Cognitive function may contribute to variability in older adults' ability to cope with chronic stress; however, limited research has evaluated this relationship. This study investigated the relationship between theoretically derived coping domains and cognitive function in 165 middle-to-older adults during the Omicron stage of COVID-19. METHOD: Participants completed a clinical interview and self-report measures of health. The National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center Uniform Data Set neuropsychological battery was used to evaluate memory, language, executive function/speed, and working memory. Structural equation modeling evaluated the underlying factor structure of the Brief COPE adapted for COVID-19. RESULTS: The data supported the proposed second-order Approach factor comprised of Problem-Solving and Emotion Regulation (ER) strategies and a first-order Avoidance factor. Higher Avoidance was associated with greater depression symptoms, lower income and worse memory, executive function, working memory, and verbal fluency performance. Higher Problem-Solving was associated with better verbal fluency performance. ER strategies were not significantly associated with cognitive function. The use of Problem-Solving was not associated with less Avoidance. Greater use of Problem-Solving, ER, and Avoidance were all associated with higher levels of stress. Post-hoc analyses found that higher Acceptance was the only coping strategy associated with less stress. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate that older adults with worse cognitive function were more likely to use Avoidance during the pandemic, which could result in prolonged stress and adverse health consequences. Future research is warranted to investigate whether acceptance-based interventions reduce the avoidance and impact of stress on health in vulnerable older adults.

Sex-specific differences in neuropsychological profiles of mild cognitive impairment in a hospital-based clinical sample.

OBJECTIVE: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is an etiologically nonspecific diagnosis including a broad spectrum of cognitive decline between normal aging and dementia. Several large-scale cohort studies have found sex effects on neuropsychological test performance in MCI. The primary aim of the current project was to examine sex differences in neuropsychological profiles in a clinically diagnosed MCI sample using clinical and research diagnostic criteria. METHOD: The current study includes archival data from 349 patients (age M = 74.7; SD = 7.7) who underwent an outpatient neuropsychological evaluation and were diagnosed with MCI. Raw scores were converted to z-scores using normative datasets. Sex differences in neurocognitive profiles including severity, domain-specific composites (memory, executive functioning/information processing speed, and language), and modality-specific learning curves (verbal, visual) were examined using Analysis of Variance, Chi-square analyses, and linear mixed models. Post hoc analyses examined whether sex effects were uniform across age and education brackets. RESULTS: Females exhibit worse non-memory domain and test-specific cognitive performances compared to males with otherwise comparable categorical MCI criteria and global cognition measured via screening and composite scores. Analysis of learning curves showed additional sex-specific advantages (visual Males>Females; verbal Females >Males) not captured by MCI subtypes. CONCLUSIONS: Our results highlight sex differences in a clinical sample with MCI. The emphasis of verbal memory in the diagnosis of MCI may result in diagnosis at more advanced stages for females. Additional investigation is needed to determine whether these profiles confer greater risk for progressing to dementia or are confounded by other factors (e.g., delayed referral, medical comorbidities).

Personality in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Associations With Face Memory Deficit and Theory of Mind.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the personality profiles of adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) using a standard personality assessment and to investigate the association between personality, ASD-related face memory deficit (FMD), and theory of mind (ToM). In a broader context, to examine whether there are distinct clinical phenotypes in the ASD population that have implications for personality development and treatment. METHOD: Fifty-five adults with ASD and 22 neurotypical (NT) adults underwent a battery of neuropsychological tests, including measures of personality, face memory, and ToM. We compared ASD and NT groups in terms of their Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) profiles. Additional analyses focused on the association between specific PAI scales and FMD. Performance on the Eyes Test was compared across groups and was examined in relation to FMD. RESULTS: Adults with ASD demonstrated significant elevations on several PAI scales compared with NT adults. The presence of FMD was associated with differing PAI profiles among the ASD adults. The ASD adults with FMD scored significantly higher on scales that are sensitive to positive impression management and treatment rejection and significantly lower on scales that are sensitive to borderline personality, anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, and stress. There was a significant association between performance on the Eyes Test and FMD in the ASD group. CONCLUSION: Adults with ASD have a unique personality profile. Further, ASD adults with FMD have reduced insight into their difficulties with emotional processing and may not be as sensitive as ASD adults without FMD to the emotions of others.

DNA Methylation "GrimAge" Acceleration Mediates Sex/Gender Differences in Verbal Memory and Processing Speed: Findings From the Health and Retirement Study.

Whether sex/gender differences in rates of biological aging mediate sex/gender differences in cognition in older adults has not been fully examined. The aim of the current study was to investigate this association. Data from up to 1 928 participants (mean age = 75, standard deviation = 7.04, female = 57%) who took part in the 2016 Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol and Venous Blood Study; substudies of the Health and Retirement Study were included in the current study. The residuals from 4 age-adjusted epigenetic clocks (Horvath, Hannum, PhenoAge, and GrimAge) were used to measure biological age acceleration. Sex/gender differences in cognition were tested using a series of analyses of covariance. Mediation analyses tested whether the measures of age acceleration accounted for these sex/gender differences, controlling for age, education, smoking status, and white blood cell count. Women outperformed men on measures of verbal learning, verbal memory, visual scanning, and processing speed. No other significant sex/gender differences were identified. Results from mediation analyses revealed that women's slower rates of GrimAge fully accounted for their faster processing speeds and partially accounted for their better performances on verbal learning, verbal memory, and visual scanning measures. None of the other measures of age acceleration were significant mediators. Accounting for sex/gender differences in biological aging may differentiate between cognitive sex/gender differences that are driven by universal (ie, age-related) versus sex-specific mechanisms. More broadly, these findings support the growing evidence that the GrimAge clock outperforms other clocks in predicting cognitive outcomes.