# Longitudinal associations between amyloid and symptoms of depression and anxiety in subjective cognitive decline: the impact of personality characteristics

## TL;DR

This study found that amyloid positivity in people with subjective cognitive decline is linked to increased depressive symptoms over time, but only in those with low neuroticism or somatization.

## Contribution

The study identifies a preclinical Alzheimer’s-related depressive phenotype modulated by personality traits.

## Key findings

- Amyloid status was not directly associated with depression or anxiety symptoms.
- Neuroticism modified the link between amyloid positivity and increased GDS scores.
- Somatization modified the link between amyloid positivity and increased CES-D scores.

## Abstract

Depressive/anxiety symptoms are common in subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and may relate to Alzheimer’s pathology, potentially modulated by personality characteristics.

Depressive/anxiety symptoms were assessed over 4 ± 2 years in 329 SCD (88 amyloid-positive/241 amyloid-negative) using Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS), Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Anxiety (HADS-A). Mixed-effects models assessed associations between amyloid status and these symptoms, with neuroticism and somatization as effect-modifiers.

Amyloid status was not directly associated with GDS, CES-D or HADS-A. However, neuroticism modified the association between amyloid status and GDS (p<0.05). In lower neuroticism, amyloid positivity was associated with GDS increase (β:0.10 ± 0.08), but not in higher neuroticism (β:-0.04 ± 0.12). Somatization modified the association between amyloid status and CES-D (p<0.05). In lower somatization, amyloid positivity was associated with CES-D increase (β:0.65 ± 0.23), but not in higher somatization (β:-0.12 ± 0.29).

Amyloid-positive individuals with lower neuroticism/somatization increased more in depressive symptoms over time, suggesting a preclinical AD-related depressive phenotype.