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Published Online: 1 July 2011

Anxiety Affects Cognition Differently in Healthy Apolipoprotein E ε4 Homozygotes and Non-Carriers

Publication: The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences

Abstract

The authors investigated the effect of carrying the apolipoprotein epsilon4 allele on performance of cognitive tasks of executive functioning when anxiety was present. They studied 185 cognitively normal individuals matched for age, gender, education, cognitive test scores, psychotropic medications, and state- or trait-anxiety; some were homozygote carriers, some heterozygote, and some, non-carriers. A higher anxiety level was associated with poorer performance on the Trails B test in the e4 homozygote participants, which may be indicative of greater risk for subsequent cognitive decline.

Abstract

It is not known whether apolipoprotein E ε4—an Alzheimer disease susceptibility gene—influences the effects of state-anxiety on executive functioning in healthy individuals. In a prospective cohort study of 185 cognitively normal individuals, there were ε4 homozygotes, heterozygotes, and non-carriers, who did not differ in age, sex, years of education, cognitive test scores, psychotropic medications, and state- or trait-anxiety. However, higher anxiety was associated with significantly worse Trails B performance in the ε4 homozygotes, as compared with ε4 non-carriers. The association of executive-functioning difficulties and anxiety appears more likely to occur in persons who are most at risk for subsequent cognitive decline.

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Published In

Go to The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences
Go to The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences
The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences
Pages: 294 - 299
PubMed: 21948890

History

Received: 13 July 2010
Revision requested: 21 January 2011
Accepted: 8 February 2011
Published online: 1 July 2011
Published in print: Summer 2011

Keywords

  1. Anxiety
  2. Cognition
  3. APOE alleles

Authors

Details

Cynthia M. Stonnington, M.D.
From the Dept. of Psychiatry and Psychology, Section of Biostatistics, and Dept of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Arizona.
Dona E. C. Locke, Ph.D.
From the Dept. of Psychiatry and Psychology, Section of Biostatistics, and Dept of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Arizona.
Amylou C. Dueck, Ph.D.
From the Dept. of Psychiatry and Psychology, Section of Biostatistics, and Dept of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Arizona.
Richard J. Caselli, M.D.
From the Dept. of Psychiatry and Psychology, Section of Biostatistics, and Dept of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Arizona.

Notes

Correspondence: Cynthia M. Stonnington, M.D.; [email protected] (e-mail).

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