The Relationship between Visual Constructive Abilities and Activity of Daily Living in Home Dwelling Elderly Population

Abstract

Objectives Increasing life expectancy and decreasing birthrates have significantly contributed to an in creased aging population throughout the world. This sudden change is a global phenomenon often re sulting in biological changes that may have various consequences, such as reduced life power and coping skills in the elderly population. Cognitive deficits are one of the most severe impairments in the elderly people. Deficits in cognitive abilities, especially constructive skills, can have a considerable impact on the independency of the daily living skills of the elderly people. Self-care by individuals to maintain their life and wellbeing is a key element for their independency. The activity of daily living (ADL) can sup port personal life independency, and is considered as a morbidity index. In the present cross-sectional study, we assessed the abilities and ADL in older subjects to determine whether cognitive impair ment is associated with changes in self-care behavior. Methods & Materials This study employed random sampling technique to select and recruit forty seven individuals aged between 60 to 80 years from Jahandidegan club in Shiraz, Iran. They were evaluated through visual constructive sub-scale from Loewenstein Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assess ment (LOTCA) battery and Katz Index, which were used to assess their associated skill and ADL, re spectively. Data was collected through observation and interviews. Data analysis was performed through Pearson's correlation test using SPSS. Results The mean age of the participants (9 women and 38 men) was 69.94±4.66 years. Lower scores in cognitive domains predicted functional decline in some scales. There was a significant correlation between constructive ability and eating; however, no significant correlation was found between this sub-scale with bathing, moving, toileting, and bowel control. Conclusion In summary, a significant correlation was noted between constructive abilities and dressing and eating activities. A weak correlation was observed between cognition and personal inde pendency that may result from the less demanding cognitive processing tasks. A B S T R A C T