Talkativeness in cognitively normal women at genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease

Previous research has suggested a correlation between some linguistic patterns and the risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). There is increasing clinical need to identify factors that can be used alone or in combination to predict the onset of AD. The purpose of the present study was to explore the association of language skills and genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease. Oral and written language samples of cognitively normal women with a susceptibility gene for AD (ApoE epsilon4) were compared to those of noncarriers on measures of grammatical complexity, topic relevance, and talkativeness by observers unaware of participant genotypes. Participants included 29 ApoE epsilon4 carriers 49-73 years of age, and 29 epsilon4 noncarriers 48-76 years of age, most of whom had a first-degree relative with AD. Carriers and noncarriers were group matched for age, educational level, and estimated IQ. Participant groups did not differ significantly in language complexity or topic relevance. However, the ApoE epsilon4 group was significantly more talkative than the noncarrier group (p < .05).