The relationship between neuropsychological performance and daily functioning in individuals with Alzheimer's disease: ecological validity of neuropsychological tests.
The current study examined the relationship between neuropsychological test performance and functional status in 42 individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. A comprehensive battery of cognitive tests was employed in order to assess a wide range of neuropsychological abilities. Functional status was measured through the use of both a performance-based scale of activities of daily living (an expanded version of the Direct Assessment of Functional Status; DAFS, Loewenstein et al., 1989), and by a caregiver/informant-based rating scale (Instrumental Activities of Daily Living; IADL, Lawton & Brody, 1969). Findings suggest that neuropsychological functioning is moderately predictive of functional status. Using multiple regression analyses, neuropsychological variables accounted for 25% of the variance in the IADL and 50% of the variance in the DAFS. Individual domains of both functional measures were also significantly predicted by the neuropsychological variables. The findings provide evidence of a relationship between neuropsychological test performance and ADLs in an Alzheimer disease patient population.
Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, University of California, Davis 4860 Y Street, Suite 3900, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA. sarah.farias@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
Sarah Tomaszewski
ST
Farias
Ernest
E
Harrell
Craig
C
Neumann
Andrew
A
Houtz
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis