Association Between Neuropsychological Functions and Activities of Daily Living in People with Mild Cognitive Impairment

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objective The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between performance in neurocognitive variables and daily functioning (basic or b- and instrumental or i-ADL) in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods A sample of 157 participants with MCI (73.65 ± 7.58 years) completed a battery of tests for assessing ADL and cognitive functions. t-test, Pearson’s correlation and multiple linear regression (backward stepwise selection) were used for data analyses. Results Significant correlations were found between b- and i-ADL, and several neuropsychological tests (p < .01). Multivariate analysis showed that difficulties in Blessed Rating Scales (BLS) explained 33.2% of the variation in b-ADL and that this variation rises to 42.9% when BLS is associated with Frontal Assessment Battery Flexibility, Trail Making Test A (TMT-A) and BLS Personality. For i-ADL, BLS and Dementia Rating Scale Total (DRS-T) explained 47.7% of the variation and the inclusion in the model of BLS, DRS-IP (Initiation/Perseveration), TMT-A and BLS Personality explained 53.5% of this variation. Executive functions explained 24.8% of the variation in i-ADL. Conclusions Cognitive functions are related to i- and b-ADL in people with MCI. The general indicators and those that assess executive functions and verbal- or visual-spatial memory should be considered to predict i-ADL.