A common cognitive profile in elderly fallers and in patients with Parkinson's disease: the prominence of impaired executive function and attention.
The present study examined the cognitive profile of elderly fallers relative to healthy elderly controls and patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), a positive-control group, using a computerized battery. Fallers performed more poorly than controls on executive function, attention, and motor skills, but performed comparably on memory, information processing and the Mini-Mental State Examination. A similar profile was evident for PD patients. However, unlike PD patients, fallers were abnormally inconsistent in their reaction times. These findings indicate that elderly fallers may have a unique cognitive processing deficit (i.e., variability of response timing) and underscore the importance of executive function and attention as potential targets for fall risk screening and interventions.
Hausdorff
Jeffrey M
JM
Movement Disorders Unit, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center. jhausdor@bidmc.harvard.edu
Doniger
Glen M
GM
Springer
Shmuel
S
Yogev
Galit
G
Simon
Ely S
ES
Giladi
Nir
N
D000058:Accidental Falls; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001288:Attention; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011930:Reaction Time