Predicting activities of daily living in people with dementia of Alzheimer’s type using neurocognitive measures

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundCognitive deterioration in neurodegenerative disorders like dementia of Alzheimer’s type affects the overall functioning of daily life activities of a person. Till date, numerous studies have shown correlation between performance on cognitive task and activities of daily living (ADL). Among all the cognitive domains attentional functioning has been the main focus in DAT as it has been the first cognitive domain to be affected.MethodThe present study has an attempt to associate the cognitive functions especially attentional functioning in predicting ADLs in people with DAT. The different ADLs which mainly categories into basic and instrumental ADL have been studied meta‐anatically in relation to its relationship with cognitive functioning in people with DAT. The keywords related with study have been selected and searched on different platforms like Google Scholar, Pubmed etc. The lack of research works in this field narrows the studies related with predictive value of cognitive ability.ResultThe study revealed that out of 11 studies, 7 were related to the assessment of cognitive functioning with ADLs. Out of which 4 were concerning about the cognitive domain related with ADLs whereas 3 studies have shown domains other than attention like visuospatial ability, immediate memory and executive functioning as a predictor to the ADLs in DAT.ConclusionThe relevance of conducting the present study is the emerging life problems of elderly with cognitive impairment. The study suggests how the present approach can be applied to address research issues related with diagnosis and rehabilitation technique for people with DAT.