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Similar Neurocognitive Performance of Adults With and Without a History of Parental Alzheimer’s Disease: A Pilot Study

University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences & Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital, Los Angeles, CA, lercoli{at}mednet.ucla.edu

Prabha Siddarth, PhD

University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences & Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital, Los Angeles, CA

Tracy Harrison, MA

University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences & Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital, Los Angeles, CA, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA

Elvira Jimenez, MPH

University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences & Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital, Los Angeles, CA, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA

Lissy F. Jarvik, MD, PhD

University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences & Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital, Los Angeles, CA, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA

The first reported 20-year prospective follow-up of middle-aged children of Alzheimer patients failed to find statistically significant neurocognitive decline. Because that report did not include a comparison group, the current study compared the 20-year follow-up scores with scores obtained on the same 8 measures by an age-comparable sample of healthy adults without a family history of Alzheimer’s disease. Both were convenience samples (n = 24). Statistical analyses (correcting for age) yielded no significant group differences in neurocognitive scores but did show a significantly higher mean score for the comparison group on the Mini-Mental State Examination (29.5 vs 28.8, P = .003, controlling for age). Even though this finding suggests that adult children of a parent with Alzheimer’s disease performed well on a limited neurocognitive battery and on the Mini-Mental State Examination, the findings are preliminary and require confirmation on large representative samples with appropriate controls and long-term follow-up.

Key Words: Alzheimer’s disease • neurocognitive • Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) • offspring • parent • family history

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