Cognitive predictors of resistiveness in dementia patients.
Resistiveness to physical care among patients with dementia is a common and burdensome problem. Forty-nine nursing home residents with dementia were administered the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) and the Royall Executive Interview (EXIT), a specific test of frontal-subcortical function. Nurses rated resistiveness on every shift for 3 days. Correlation with resistiveness ratings was stronger for the EXIT (r=0. 73) than for the MMSE (r=-0. 46); logistic modeling found the EXIT to be a strong independent predictor of resistiveness. Executive dysfunction as measured by the EXIT is a major determinant of resistiveness to care in long-term care residents with dementia, possibly as a result of such patients' tendency toward inertia.
Stewart
J T
JT
Bay Pines VA Medical Center, FL 33744, USA.
Gonzalez-Perez
E
E
Zhu
Y
Y
Robinson
B E
BE
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003071:Cognition; D003704:Dementia / Q000523:psychology*; D005431:Florida; D006707:Homes for the Aged / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012920:Social Behavior Disorders / Q000523:psychology*