Subjective cognitive decline, APOE e4 allele, and the risk of neurocognitive disorders: Age- and sex-stratified cohort study

Objective: Subjective cognitive decline and APOE e4 allele (APOE4) are known predictors of mild cognitive impairment and dementia (mild cognitive impairment/dementia), with recent evidence showing interaction between subjective cognitive decline and APOE4 in amplifying the risk of mild cognitive impairment/dementia. However, the literature is unclear whether the interaction effect is seen across various age and sex strata. This study examined the interaction between subjective cognitive decline and APOE4-across different age and sex strata-on the risk of mild cognitive impairment/dementia.

Methods: This cohort study included 16,221 participants aged ⩾50 years and had normal cognition at baseline. Participants were evaluated for subjective cognitive decline and APOE4 at baseline, and followed-up almost annually for mild cognitive impairment/dementia (median follow-up = 4.5 years). Interaction effects were examined in Cox regression using Relative Excess Risk due to Interaction, stratified by age (⩽70 vs >70 years) and sex.

Results: Subjective cognitive decline and APOE4 were independently associated with mild cognitive impairment/dementia (hazard ratio: 1.4-1.8), with the highest risk when subjective cognitive decline and APOE4 co-occurred (hazard ratio: 2.6). APOE4 amplified the association between subjective cognitive decline and mild cognitive impairment/dementia in older women (Relative Excess Risk due to Interaction 1.0; 95% confidence interval = [0.3, 1.6]), but not in other age or sex strata. Among older women, half of them developed mild cognitive impairment/dementia by 12.1 years in the absence of subjective cognitive decline or APOE4. This duration shortened to 8.1-10.3 years in the presence of either subjective cognitive decline or APOE4, and to 4.4 years in the presence of both subjective cognitive decline and APOE4. Interaction effect among older women remained consistent when alternate outcomes were used (i.e. mild cognitive impairment and dementia due to Alzheimer's disease; dementia; and Alzheimer's dementia) (Relative Excess Risk due to Interaction 1.2-2.5).

Conclusions: APOE4 amplifies the association between subjective cognitive decline and neurocognitive disorders in older women, with the findings suggesting the need for further research to delineate underlying neurobiology. APOE4 may potentially have a role in facilitating further risk stratification of older women with subjective cognitive decline in clinical practice.