Introduction: Reduced ability to remember facts and events of everyday life is a common complaint in the elderly and is also the first sign of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The present research was designed to study the interrelationship between severity of memory complaints (MC), informant report, and performance in memory tests.
Material and methods: Seventy three (73) patients (41 age associated memory impairment (AAMI), and 32 Alzheimer's disease) and 30 normal controls were studied using the Subjective Memory Questionnaire (modified version), an objective memory battery and the Hamilton depression scale.
Results: Age Associated Memory Impairment subjects reported more severe MC (p< 0.001). No relationship was found between severity of MC and age, sex or educational level. Patient's MC didn't correlate with objective memory battery. A strong correlation was found with Hamilton depression score. Caregiver memory reports correlated with objective memory performances.
Conclusion: Depressive features in AAMI and anosognosia in dementia patients would explain these results. These data suggest that informant report is the best predictor of patient's memory performance.