Abstract
Background: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD), i.e. self/other-reported concerns on one’s cognitive functioning without objective evidence of significant decline, is an indicator of dementia risk. There is little consensus on reliability and validity of the available SCD measures. Therefore, introducing a novel and psychometrically sound measure of SCD is timely.
Objective: The psychometric properties of a new SCD measure, the McCusker Subjective Cognitive Impairment Inventory–Self-Report (McSCI-S), are reported.
Methods: Through review of previously published measures as well as our clinical and research data on people with SCD, we developed a 46-item self-report questionnaire to assess concerns on six cognitive domains, namely, memory, language, orientation, attention and concentration, visuoconstruction abilities and executive function. The McSCI-S was examined in a cohort of 526 participants using factor analysis, item response theory analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.
Results: A unidimensional model provided acceptable fit (CFI = 0.94, TLI = 0.94, RMSEA [90% CI] = 0.052 [.049, 0.055], WRMR = 1.45). The McSCI-S internal consistency was excellent (.96). A cut-off score of ≥24 is proposed to identify participants with SCDs. Higher McSCI-S scores were associated with poorer general cognition, episodic verbal memory, executive function and greater memory complaints and depressive scores (P <.001), controlling for age, sex and education.
Conclusions: Excellent reliability and construct validity suggest the McSCI-S estimates SCDs with acceptable accuracy while capturing self-reported concerns for various cognitive domains. The psychometric analysis indicated that this measure can be used in cohort studies as well as on individual, clinical settings to assess SCDs.
Keywords
cognition, dementia, McSCI-S, older people, perceived cognitive decline, subjective cognitive decline, The McCusker Subjective Cognitive Impairment Inventory
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
7-1-2024
Article Number
afae138
Volume
53
Issue
7
PubMed ID
38972330
Publication Title
Age and Ageing
Publisher
Oxford Academic
School
School of Medical and Health Sciences / School of Arts and Humanities
Funding Information
The Western Australia Memory Study (WAMS), the primary study for this manuscript, has been supported by a grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council-Australia (Grant Number: 324100 awarded to RNM), an Early Career Researcher Grant (HRS; G1001512-2014) from Edith Cowan University, the Dementia Australia, the Cecilia Margaret Hudson Dementia Research Grant to H.R.S. (2014; Dementia Australia Research Foundation), the McCusker Charitable Foundation grant, the Alzheimer’s Research Australia (previously known as the Australian Alzheimer’s Research Foundation Inc.), the Hollywood Private Hospital and the Charlies Foundation Western Australia, Australia.
Funding received from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)
324100
Administering Institution
Edith Cowan University
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Content Type
Full object
Recommended Citation
Sohrabi, H. R., Gavett, B. E., Weinborn, M., Speelman, C. P., Bucks, R. S., & Martins, R. N. (2024). The McCusker subjective cognitive impairment inventory (McSCI): A novel measure of perceived cognitive decline. Age and Ageing, 53(7), Article afae138. https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afae138
Comments
Sohrabi, H. R., Gavett, B. E., Weinborn, M., Speelman, C. P., Bucks, R. S., & Martins, R. N. (2024). The McCusker subjective cognitive impairment inventory (McSCI): A novel measure of perceived cognitive decline. Age and Ageing, 53(7), afae138. https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afae138