Depression Tops the List of Factors Linked to Memory Concerns in Midlife and Beyond

About one in nine Americans aged 45 and older say their memory or thinking has been getting worse, and this subjective cognitive decline can be an early sign of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. This study analyzed 2022 national survey data from 62,743 adults to find out which everyday factors are most closely tied to it.

Four machine learning models (LASSO, random forest, XGBoost, and a neural network) were trained on 37 demographic, socioeconomic, medical, behavioral, and social variables. Depression was the strongest predictor in every model. Adults with depression had nearly two and a half times the odds of reporting cognitive decline. Lack of emotional support, stroke, unemployment, COPD, arthritis, heart disease, low income, physical inactivity, and short sleep also made the top ten.

Many of these factors can be changed. The findings point to mental health care, chronic disease management, social support, and healthy sleep as promising ways to protect cognitive health.