Biomedical subjects

Peter J Houx

Publications and source records attributed to Peter J Houx.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2002

Subjective sleep problems in later life as predictors of cognitive decline. Report from the Maastricht Ageing Study (MAAS).

BACKGROUND: Although biological sleep criteria seem to be associated with cognitive changes in older people, it is not clear if subjective sleep parameters are related to cognitive decline in later life. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine whether subjective sleep complaints in a population-based sample of 838 middle aged and older adults (>or= 50 years) predicted cognitive decline over a period of 3 years. METHODS: Sleep complaints at baseline, assessed with the subscale Sleep Problems of the Symptoms Checklist-90, were used as a predictor variable. Cognitive performance at follow-up, measured with the Mini Mental Status Examination, was employed as a dependent variable. RESULTS: Controlling for the effects of age, gender, length of follow-up interval, systemic diseases, and cognitive function at baseline, subjective sleep complaints were negatively associated with cognitive performance at follow-up. CONCLUSION: Subjective sleep complaints predict cognitive decline in middle aged and older adults. Mechanisms behind the effect of subjective sleep complaints on cognitive performance are discussed.

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Neuroticism does not affect cognitive functioning in later life.

In a cross-sectional study, Jorm and colleagues (1993. Personality and Individual Differences, 15, 721-723) found that neuroticism was related to poorer cognitive performance in the elderly. The present study was initiated to expand their findings using both cross-sectional and longitudinal data from the Maastricht Aging Study. In contrast to the findings of Jorm and coworkers, neuroticism was not associated with either current cognitive performance or cognitive decline over a period of 3 years.

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PubMedDate not supplied

Mental work demands protect against cognitive impairment: MAAS prospective cohort study.

Little is known about whether persons with mentally demanding jobs are protected against cognitive impairment and whether this association is independent of intellectual abilities and other confounders. Longitudinal data from the Maastricht Aging Study (MAAS) were used to examine this association. After the 1993-1995 baseline examination, there was a first 3-year follow-up examination (1996-1998) among 630 men and women, aged 50 to 80, who exhibited no cognitive impairment at baseline. Persons with mentally demanding jobs had lower risks of developing cognitive impairment during follow-up (36 cases), compared with persons without such jobs (odds ratio = 0.79; 95% confidence interval: 0.65-0.96). About 1.5% of the persons with high mental work demands developed impairment compared to 4% of the persons with few work demands. The protective effect was independent of intellectual abilities and other confounders. Our findings provide evidence that continued and potentially modifiable mental stimulation during adult life may protect men and women against cognitive impairment.

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