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Subjective memory complaint in relation to cognitive performance and depression: a longitudinal study of a rural Chinese population
Wang PN, Wang SJ, Fuh JL, Teng EL, Liu CY, Lin CH, Shyu HY, Lu SR et al.. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2000-03-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Objectives To examine the associations of subjective memory complaint (SMC) in old age with (a) objective test performance, (b) past and subsequent cognitive decline, and (c) depression. Design A group of community residents were examined twice during a 3-year period. Setting Two townships on a rural Chinese islet. Participants A total of 543 men and women aged 65 years and older. Measurements During each examination, neurologists interviewed and examined all participants for dementia and asked the question, "Do you have trouble with your memory?" In addition, research assistants administered (a) the Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument (CASI) to assess cognitive abilities, including long-term memory (LTM) and short-term memory (STM), and (b) the Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Version (GDS-S) to assess symptoms of depression. Results At each examination, almost half of the subjects acknowledged having trouble with their memory (the SMC+ group). At both examinations, the SMC+ group scored significantly lower on the CASI and significantly higher on the GDS-S than the SMC- group. However, the presence of SMC was not associated with faster cognitive decline over the past or subsequent 3 years. There were no consistent associations between SMC and the demographic variables of age, gender, and education at the two examinations. Logistic regression analysis showed that SMC was associated with poorer memory test scores after controlling for gender, age, education, and depression. Conclusions SMC was associated with poorer objective memory performance even after controlling the effect of depression and demographic data, but SMC did not predict faster cognitive decline or dementia over 3 years.
Key findings
- Results At each examination, almost half of the subjects acknowledged having trouble with their memory (the SMC+ group).
- At both examinations, the SMC+ group scored significantly lower on the CASI and significantly higher on the GDS-S than the SMC- group.
- However, the presence of SMC was not associated with faster cognitive decline over the past or subsequent 3 years.
- Logistic regression analysis showed that SMC was associated with poorer memory test scores after controlling for gender, age, education, and depression.
- Conclusions SMC was associated with poorer objective memory performance even after controlling the effect of depression and demographic data, but SMC did not predict faster cognitive decline or dementia over 3 years.
Why it matters
People who reported trouble with their memory scored lower on cognitive tests and higher on depression symptoms, but having this complaint was not linked to faster cognitive decline over the past or following 3 years. This means subjective memory complaint alone did not predict faster decline in this population.
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Study details
- Participants543
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 46/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of the American Geriatrics Society) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Journal of the American Geriatrics Society: journal h-index 344 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2000 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 543 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 95 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 3.4 citations a year over 28 year(s) since 2000 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 4 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 3 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Hsiu-Chih Liu: h-index 27 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of Southern California: institution h-index 1,521 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 10733056) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 46 / 100 | — |
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Wang, P. N., Wang, S. J., Fuh, J. L., Teng, E. L., Liu, C. Y., Lin, C. H., et al. (2000). Subjective memory complaint in relation to cognitive performance and depression: a longitudinal study of a rural Chinese population. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2000.tb02649.x
Vancouver
Wang PN, Wang SJ, Fuh JL, Teng EL, Liu CY, Lin CH, et al. Subjective memory complaint in relation to cognitive performance and depression: a longitudinal study of a rural Chinese population. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2000. doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2000.tb02649.x. PMID: 10733056.
BibTeX
@article{wang2000-10733056,
author = {Wang, P. N. and Wang, S. J. and Fuh, J. L. and Teng, E. L. and Liu, C. Y. and Lin, C. H. and Shyu, H. Y. and Lu, SR. and others},
title = {{Subjective memory complaint in relation to cognitive performance and depression: a longitudinal study of a rural Chinese population}},
journal = {Journal of the American Geriatrics Society},
year = {2000},
doi = {10.1111/j.1532-5415.2000.tb02649.x},
pmid = {10733056},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2000.tb02649.x}
}
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