title: Annualized functional change in Alzheimer's disease participants and normal controls.
abstract: The rate of functional change in persons with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) was compared to that of cognitively normal elderly control subjects. A comparison of annualized rates of change on the Test of Everyday Functional Abilities (TEFA) was carried out, along with a brief measure of instrumental activities of daily living skills, in persons with mild AD (Mini-Mental State Exam score >20) and cognitively normal elderly controls. Persons with AD (N = 30) showed an 8.5 % (3.5 point) annualized decline in TEFA scores over an average of 1.2 years; there was no decline in a group of elderly normal controls (N = 20) over an average of 1.5 years. Persons with mild AD showed functional changes over the course of a year on a direct measure of instrumental activities of daily living; a comparable group of normally aging persons did not.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-9129, USA. myron.weiner@utsouthwestern.edu
authors.forename: Myron
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weiner
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fields
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hynan
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Cullum
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008609:Mental Status Schedule / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index