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Daily Activity Abilities in MCI, Alzheimer's Disease, and Healthy Controls

Justina Avila1, Amina Flowers2, Travis M Scott3

  • 1Department of Psychology, California State University, Northridge, CA, USA; Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA.

Geropsych
|July 2, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) poses a risk for dementia. This study found specific daily functioning deficits in amnestic MCI and nonamnestic MCI, distinguishing them from Alzheimer's disease and healthy controls.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Gerontology
  • Psychology

Background:

  • Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a critical transitional stage preceding dementia, characterized by cognitive decline.
  • Understanding functional impairments in MCI subtypes is crucial for early diagnosis and intervention strategies.
  • Alzheimer's disease (AD) represents the most common form of dementia, often preceded by MCI.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare daily functioning in individuals with amnestic MCI (aMCI) and nonamnestic MCI (naMCI) against Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and healthy controls (NC).
  • To identify specific functional deficits associated with different cognitive impairment classifications using the Direct Assessment of Functional Status (DAFS).
  • To determine the utility of DAFS subscales in differentiating between MCI subtypes and AD.

Main Methods:

  • The study involved 20 AD patients, 14 aMCI individuals, 12 naMCI individuals, and 30 healthy controls (NC).
  • Participants completed the Direct Assessment of Functional Status (DAFS) to evaluate daily functioning across various domains.
  • Statistical analyses were performed to compare performance across the four groups on DAFS subscales.

Main Results:

  • The AD group exhibited significantly poorer performance on all DAFS subscales compared to all other groups.
  • Individuals with aMCI showed deficits in shopping tasks compared to controls, while naMCI individuals only struggled with free recall shopping.
  • DAFS subscales effectively differentiated between AD and aMCI, with recognition shopping distinguishing naMCI from aMCI.

Conclusions:

  • Specific activities of daily living (ADL) deficits can distinguish between subtypes of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD).
  • The findings highlight the potential of functional assessments like DAFS in identifying nuanced differences in daily functioning across cognitive states.
  • These results support the use of targeted functional assessments for improved diagnostic accuracy in neurodegenerative conditions.
Keywords:
Alzheimer’s diseaseMCIactivities of daily living

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