Subjective word-finding complaints in older adults: Development and preliminary psychometric evaluation of a novel self-reported questionnaire

Objectives: Subjective word-finding complaints (SWFC) are among the most frequent cognitive complaints in cognitively unimpaired older adults (CU). However, no comprehensive tools currently exist to assess this phenomenon. This study aimed to conduct a preliminary psychometric evaluation of a novel SWFC questionnaire, better characterize SWFC, and establish their demographic/clinical correlates. Methods: 287 older adults (192 CU, 95 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI)) from the PREVENT-AD cohort completed a novel 29-item SWFC questionnaire available in French and English. Internal consistency and construct validity were evaluated. Relationships of demographic/clinical variables with total and domain-specific SWFC scores were analyzed. Results: Internal consistency was strong (Cronbach's Alpha=0.926). Difficulty remembering the names of famous people was the most frequently endorsed item (83%), whereas items related to the social impacts of SWFC were least frequently endorsed. Exploratory factor analysis revealed six distinct factors: SWFC coping strategies, fluency difficulties and affective impacts, SWFC-related errors, proper noun retrieval difficulties, social impacts of SWFC, and common noun retrieval difficulties. Older age was associated with higher total SWFC and greater proper and common noun retrieval difficulties, female sex with greater proper noun retrieval difficulties, higher education with lesser social impacts of SWFC, and MCI status with greater social impacts of SWFC. Discussion: These findings demonstrate that SWFC are multidimensional rather than a unitary construct in aging. This novel questionnaire provides a promising tool for characterizing the type and severity of specific SWFC and may facilitate future research examining which complaint profiles are associated with adverse clinical outcomes, including Alzheimer's disease.