Abstract
ABSTRACTBackground:People with chronic diseases may experience poor cognitive functioning associated with advanced age, progression of disease, or other comorbid chronic conditions. Empirical evidence of this phenomenon is limited despite the clinical relevance of cognitive decline and associated adverse outcomes such as poor physical functioning.Purpose:The purpose of this study was to examine cognitive functioning in the domains of memory, attention, and executive function and its association with functional capacity in a sample of community-dwelling adults with a spectrum of chronic diseases.Methods:An exploratory cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of community-dwelling adults with chronic diseases, including hypertension (58.9%), diabetes mellitus (DM; 20.0%), and dyslipidemia (14.4%). Participants’ mean age was 64.1 ± 11.2 years, and 48.9% were male. Ninety persons completed the face-to-face interviews, which evaluated cognitive functioning in the domains of memory, attention, and executive function using neuropsychological tests and the physical well-being test, which measured functional capacity using the Duke Activity Status Index.Results:Compared with those with other chronic diseases, our sample with hypertension and DM had significantly more memory loss and poorer executive function. These significant differences were nullified when adjusting for age, gender, and education. Approximately one third had functional limitations (n = 29, 32.2%), using a cutoff point of 35 or less (Duke Activity Status Index). Memory loss (delayed recall, b = 1.5, p = .016) and poor executive function (Trail Making Test Part A, b = −0.2, p < .001) were predicting factors of functional decline, independent of age, gender, education, and comorbidity.Conclusions/Implications for Practice:Cognitive function, particularly memory and executive function, was poorer among chronically ill Korean adults in the community with hypertension or DM than their counterparts. Functional decline was worse in the presence of memory loss and poor executive function. Studies examining the mechanism by which overall functioning is impacted by cognitive decline and its relevance to functional declines in a larger representative sample are warranted.
Highlights
Cardiometabolic risk control and the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) are worldwide concerns (Chatterjee et al, 2012)
Older men had a higher incidence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus (DM) than other chronic diseases (Table 1)
Performance on most cognitive measures was poorer in the presence of hypertension or DM as compared with other chronic conditions
Summary
Cardiometabolic risk control and the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) are worldwide concerns (Chatterjee et al, 2012). Activation of associated mechanisms such as vascular risks of uncontrolled hypertension or midlife onset of DM or lifestyle risks or aging, which often occur during the development of such conditions, has been found to increase susceptibility to advanced CVDs and stroke, in elderly populations (Birns & Kalra, 2009; Eggermont et al, 2012; Roberts et al, 2014). These types of cognitive decline often impede the decision making. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine cognitive functioning in the domains of memory, attention, and executive function and its association with functional capacity in a sample of community-dwelling adults with a spectrum of chronic diseases
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