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Executive function impairment in community elderly subjects with questionable dementia.
Linda C W Lam1, Victor W C Lui, Helen F K Chiu
1Department of Psychiatry, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR. cwlam@cuhk.edu.hk
Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders
|December 2, 2004
Summary
Community-dwelling Chinese individuals with questionable dementia exhibit memory and executive function deficits. Early identification requires assessing both memory and executive functions for dementia risk.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Gerontology
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Investigated the neurocognitive profile of community-dwelling Chinese subjects exhibiting 'questionable' dementia.
- Focused on differentiating individuals with CDR 0 (non-demented) from CDR 0.5 ('questionable' dementia).
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the neurocognitive deficits in Chinese individuals with 'questionable' dementia.
- To identify key cognitive predictors for 'questionable' dementia.
Main Methods:
- Recruited 154 ambulatory Chinese elderly subjects.
- Utilized comprehensive neuropsychological assessments including CDR, CMMSE, ADAS-Cog, CVFT, digit/visual span, and Cambridge Neurological Inventory.
- Employed t tests, Mann-Whitney tests, and logistic regression for statistical analysis.
Main Results:
- 'Questionable' dementia group showed older age, lower education, and poorer performance on CMMSE and ADAS-Cog (p < 0.001).
- Significant deficits were observed in delayed recall, reverse span, verbal fluency, and executive functions (p < 0.001).
- ADAS-Cog, CVFT, and reverse visual span significantly predicted 'questionable' dementia status.
Conclusions:
- Executive function deficits, in addition to memory impairment, characterize 'questionable' dementia.
- Concomitant assessment of memory and executive function is recommended for identifying individuals at cognitive risk for dementia.