HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ALL ISSUES SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a Colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Wadley, V. G. Articles by Ross-Meadows, L. A. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Wadley, V. G. Articles by Ross-Meadows, L. A.

Mild Cognitive Impairment and Everyday Function: Evidence of Reduced Speed in Performing Instrumental Activities of Daily Living

From the Departments of Medicine (VGW) and Psychology (OO, MC, LAR-M), Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (VGW), and Edward R. Roybal Center for Translational Research on Aging and Mobility (VGW, OO, MC,LAR-M), University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL; and Australian National University, Centre for Mental Health Research, Ageing Research Unit, Canberra, Australia (LAR-M).

Objective: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) may involve subtle functional losses that are not detected with typical self- or informant-report assessments of daily function. Information about the nature of functional difficulties in MCI can be used to augment common clinical assessment procedures, and aspects of function that are affected in MCI can serve as meaningful endpoints for intervention trials.

Design: Cross-sectional case and comparison group study.

Setting: University medical center.

Participants: Fifty participants with MCI and 59 cognitively normal participants.

Measurements: The authors compared the groups on dimensions of both speed and accuracy in performing instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), using a standardized Timed IADL measure that evaluates five functional domains commonly encountered in everyday life (telephone use, locating nutrition information on food labels, financial abilities, grocery shopping, medication management).

Results: Across Timed IADL domains, MCI participants demonstrated accuracy comparable with cognitively normal participants but took significantly longer to complete the functional activities, controlling for depressive symptoms (p< 0.001). Slower performance was demonstrated in each discrete domain except financial abilities.

Conclusion: These results suggest that slower speed of task performance is an important component and perhaps an early marker of functional change in MCI that would not be detected using traditional measurements of daily function. Future research should address the question of whether performance-based functional measures, as well as simple queries regarding whether functional activities take longer than usual to complete, may improve the prediction of future cognitive decline and disease progression among those individuals in whom MCI represents impending dementia.

Key Words: Mild cognitive impairment • functional ability • performance speed • IADLs