We examined whether long-term fluid cognitive decline was associated with memory

We examined whether long-term fluid cognitive decline was associated with memory problems in everyday life and whether stress plays a moderating role. the course of one day to assess physiological stress using diurnal cortisol profiles [cortisol awakening response (CAR) and diurnal cortisol Rabbit polyclonal to PELI3. slope (DCS)]. Self-reported daily stressors and a less healthy DCS were associated with more everyday memory problems and participants with greater cognitive decline reported more memory problems compared to those with less or no decline. Self-reported daily stressors and CAR moderated the relationship of cognitive decline and memory problems. As expected more cognitive decline was associated with greater increases in memory problems on weeks when individuals reported more daily stressors and for individuals with a less healthy CAR. The current findings can inform interventions aimed to identify factors such as daily stress that contribute to daily functioning in the context of cognitive decline. = 0.15 (Beaudoin & Desrichard 2011 and = .06 (Crumley Stetler & Horhota 2014 This study examining self-reports and performance typically includes retrospective ratings of how often in general participants experience specific problems which may be subject to recall bias. In addition this study primarily consists of cross-sectional study designs and samples with only older adult participants. In the current study we build on earlier work by analyzing whether ten-year age-related switch in objectively-measured fluid cognitive decline is related to naturally-occurring everyday experiences of memory space problems reported inside a diary study with middle-aged and older participants. We then consider whether experiences of daily stress magnify the relationship between fluid cognitive decline and everyday memory problems. Daily stressors include the Epothilone D minor frequently occurring challenges of daily life such as household chores or a spousal disagreement (Almeida 2005 Bolger Delongis Kessler & Schilling 1989 McIntyre Korn Epothilone D & Matsuo 2008 Previous work has found that individuals report a greater number of memory failures on stressor days than they report on non-stressor days (Neupert Almeida Mroczek & Spiro 2006 Neupert Mroczek & Spiro 2008 There is also evidence that on days in which individuals report daily stressors that they exhibit worse performance on more complex lab-based tasks of working-memory and for older adults in particular worse performance on tasks of serial attention as well (Sliwinski Smyth Hofer & Stawski 2006 However research has yet to examine whether individuals with greater longitudinal in fluid cognition report more everyday memory problems especially during times of more daily stress. Life-span developmental theory posits that longitudinal changes in objective cognition may be associated with increased vulnerability to the experience of daily stressors because of limited resources reduced reserve capacity and constraints in dealing with activities and hassles of Epothilone D daily life (Staudinger Marsiske & Baltes 1993 Therefore individuals with greater age-related declines in fluid cognition may be more likely to experience greater stressor-related increases in everyday memory problems. Stawski and colleagues (Stawski Almeida Lachman Tun & Rosnick 2010 Stawski Mogle & Sliwinski 2013 compared individuals with higher versus lower fluid cognitive ability and found that individuals with lower fluid cognitive ability experienced greater increases in daily negative affect on stressor days. However this work did not consider long-term change in fluid cognition or whether daily stressors exacerbate other outcomes in daily life such as everyday memory problems. Moreover in order to capture stress that might not be measured using self-reports of the occurrence of specific daily stressors ideally research should also incorporate physiological markers Epothilone D of stress. When a person encounters a stressor the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis triggers the release of the hormone cortisol which assists the individual respond to a possibly harmful event. Chronic tension exposure may create a dysregulated HPA axis (McEwen 1998 continuously raised cortisol or an harmful diurnal cortisol profile (McEwen & Seeman 1999 A steeper morning hours rise [cortisol awakening response (CAR)] and a larger decrease in cortisol through the entire.