Showing papers by "Lisa L. Barnes published in 2003"
TL;DR: Evidence is provided that the relation between senile plaques and level of cognitive function differs by years of formal education, and that this differs for perceptual speed and episodic memory in analyses examining five different cognitive abilities.
Abstract: Objective: To test the hypothesis that years of formal education modifies the relation of AD pathology to level of cognitive function. Methods: A total of 130 older Catholic clergy participating in the Religious Orders Study underwent annual cognitive function testing and brain autopsy at the time of death. Individual cognitive function tests were z-scored and averaged to yield a global measure of cognitive function and summary measures of five different cognitive abilities. Neuritic and diffuse plaques and neurofibrillary tangles were counted in separate 1 mm 2 areas of maximal density. Counts were converted to standard scores by dividing by their SD, and combined to yield a global AD pathology score and summary scores of each postmortem index. Linear regression was used to examine the relation of education and AD pathology scores to level of cognitive function proximate to death, controlling for age and sex. Subsequent analyses tested the interaction between education and each AD pathology score to determine whether education modified the relation of AD pathology to level of cognitive function. Additional analyses examined these associations on five specific cognitive abilities. Results: Both years of formal education (regression coefficient = 0.073, p = 0.0001) and the global AD pathology score (regression coefficient = −0.689, p p = 0.0078) standard unit less for each year of education than the level predicted from the model without the interaction term. Whereas neuritic plaques, diffuse plaques, and neurofibrillary tangles were all strongly related to cognitive function, education only modified the relation of neuritic plaques ( p = 0.002) and diffuse plaques ( p = 0.03) to cognition, but not neurofibrillary tangles. In analyses examining five different cognitive abilities, the interaction between education and the neuritic plaque score was strongest for perceptual speed and weakest for episodic memory. Conclusions: These data provide strong evidence that the relation between senile plaques and level of cognitive function differs by years of formal education.
528 citations
TL;DR: In analyses controlling for age, sex, and education, more frequent cognitive activity was related to better perceptual speed, visuospatial ability, and semantic memory but not to episodic memory or working memory.
Abstract: Cognitively stimulating experience is thought to contribute to cognitive reserve. We constructed a questionnaire consisting of 25 items about frequency of participation in cognitive activities acro...
341 citations
TL;DR: Gender differences in rate of decline for different cognitive systems and for risk of developing AD are investigated, suggesting that patterns of cognitive decline and incidence of AD are similar in older men and women.
Abstract: Background: Cross-sectional studies suggest gender differences in cognitive function and risk of AD in older persons. However, longitudinal studies comparing change in cognitive function and risk of AD in men and women have had mixed results. The authors investigated gender differences in rate of decline for different cognitive systems and for risk of developing AD. Methods: Participants were from the Religious Orders Study, a longitudinal, clinical–pathologic study of aging and AD in older Catholic nuns, priests, and brothers. Longitudinal data were available from 577 older women and 271 older men, who completed an average of 5.8 annual evaluations with more than 95% follow-up participation in survivors. The evaluations included 21 neuropsychological tests, from which summary measures of global cognitive function and 5 functional domains were formed, and clinical classification of AD. Results: Random effects models were used to analyze change in cognitive function, and proportional hazards models were used to assess risk of incident AD. On average, men and women declined in all abilities during the 8-year period but did not differ in annual rates of change in analyses that controlled for age, education, and initial level of cognitive function. Risk of incident AD did not differ between men and women. Furthermore, results were unchanged after controlling for possession of the apolipoprotein-e4 allele. Duration of estrogen use was related to rate of global cognitive decline and visuospatial abilities in women but did not influence comparisons between men and women in cognitive decline. Conclusions: The results suggest that patterns of cognitive decline and incidence of AD are similar in older men and women.
156 citations