Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 Mar;25(3):224-33.
doi: 10.1002/gps.2325.

Everyday functioning in mild cognitive impairment and its relationship with executive cognition

Eleni Aretouli  1 , Jason Brandt
Affiliations

Everyday functioning in mild cognitive impairment and its relationship with executive cognition

Eleni Aretouli et al. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2010 Mar.

Abstract

Objective: Elderly persons with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are at increased risk of dementia and functional impairments. The present study investigated the contribution of three domains of executive cognition to everyday functioning among persons with MCI.

Methods: 124 MCI patients and 68 cognitively normal elderly participants were administered a cognitive screening battery. These tests were used to divide patients into four subgroups (amnestic single domain, amnestic multiple domain, non-amnestic single domain, and non-amnestic multiple domain). Subjects were then administered 18 executive function tests that assess planning/problem-solving, working memory, and judgment. Performance of everyday activities and everyday cognition was rated with two informant-reported measures.

Results: All MCI subtypes had more difficulties in everyday activities than cognitively normal elderly participants. Multiple domain MCI patients had more functional impairments than single domain MCI patients. Contrary to our expectations, only one executive function component, working memory, contributed significantly to functional status after controlling for demographic, health-related and other cognitive factors.

Conclusions: Functional abilities are compromised in all MCI subtypes. Working memory may be associated with functional impairments, but general cognitive measures account for more unique variance.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Operational criteria for four groups of participants with mild cognitive impairment. Subjects in each group performed at or below 1.5 SD below age and education norms on the test(s) indicated (from Brandt et al. (2009)).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mean ratings (±SE) of proxy on functional status measures: ADL-PI (left panel) and IQCODE (right panel).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Frequency of reported difficulty by MCI patients and NC subjects’ informants on specific ADL activities.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Albert SM, Tabert MH, Dienstag A, Pelton G, Devanand D. The impact of mild cognitive impairment on functional abilities in the elderly. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2002;4(1):64–68. - PubMed
    1. Alexopoulos P, Grimmer T, Perneczky R, Domes G, Kurz A. Progression to dementia in clinical subtypes of mild cognitive impairment. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2006;22(1):27–34. - PubMed
    1. Allaire JC, Gamaldo A, Ayotte BJ, Sim R, Whitfield K. Mild cognitive impairment and objective instrumental everyday functioning: the everyday cognition battery memory test. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2009;57(1):120–125. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ardila A. On the evolutionary origins of executive functions. Brain Cogn. 2008;68(1):92–99. - PubMed
    1. Baddeley A. Working Memory. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press; 1986.

Publication types