J Korean Geriatr Psychiatry.  2011 Dec;15(2):61-69.

Factors Associated with Activities of Daily Living (ADL) in Elderly with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and Early Dementia

• Kim JR
• Kil JH
• Cho A
• Lee DW
• Kim MS
• Choi YM

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
To identify the factors that are most significantly associated with the decline of Activities of Daily Living (ADL) status in subjects with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and early dementia of primary degenerative cause.
METHODS
Medical records, results of neuropsychological tests, and Activities of Daily Living scale were retrospectively analyzed in 134 subjects meeting the diagnostic criteria of MCI or early dementia, respectively. Demographic factors, memory functions, depressive symptoms and executive functions of the participants were also analyzed.
RESULTS
Correlations revealed that measures of executive functions were significantly associated with ADL status in participants with MCI, while both memory and executive functions were significantly associated in early demented elderly. Stroop test which measures the ability of inhibition showed the closest relation to executive function. Depressive symptoms did not have a significant influence on ADL status.
CONCLUSION
Among participants with MCI, the early functional difficulties are associated mainly with executive function, which enables inhibition in particular. In participants with early dementia, on the contrary, the ADL status was associated with both executive function and memory. Further studies on the symptom pattern and related neuropathology in process of dementia progression are needed for Quality of Life (QoL) in elderly population.

Keyword

Activities of daily living; Dementia; Mild cognitive impairment; Neuropsychological test; Executive function; Memory; Depressive symptoms

MeSH Terms

Activities of Daily Living
Aged
Dementia
Demography
Depression
Executive Function
Humans
Medical Records
Memory
Mild Cognitive Impairment
Neuropsychological Tests
Quality of Life
Retrospective Studies
Stroop Test