Mild cognitive impairment and objective instrumental everyday functioning: the everyday cognition battery memory test.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the performance subjects with and without mild cognitive impairment (MCI) on an objective measure of everyday or real-world memory and subjective items assessing competency within the same instrumental domains; to determine whether the Everyday Cognition Battery (ECB) can uniquely predict MCI status.


METHODS
Cross-sectional.


METHODS
Independent-living sample of urban dwelling elders in Baltimore Maryland.


METHODS
The sample consisted of 555 subjects ranging in age from 50 to 95 (mean 68.8 +/- 9.6).


METHODS
Objective performance in three instrumental domains (medication use, financial management, nutrition and food preparation) was assessed using the ECB Memory Test. Subjective performance within the same instrumental domains was also assessed.


RESULTS
No difference was found between elderly subjects with and without MCI on the subjective items of instrumental activity of daily living (IADL) competency. A significant multivariate effect for cognitive status group (F(3, 507)=21.88, P<.05, eta(2)=.12) was observed for the objective measure, with participants with MCI performing, on average, significantly worse than those without on all thee instrumental domain subscales. The medicine use (odds ratio (OR)=0.96, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.94-0.99) and financial management (OR=0.93, 95% CI=0.91-0.96) subscales of the ECB Memory Test were unique and significant predictors of MCI.


CONCLUSIONS
This study adds to the growing body of literature suggesting that cognitively complex IADLs might be compromised in elderly people with MCI. Moreover, the ECB Memory Test might be a clinically useful tool in evaluating real-world competency.
Allaire
Jason C
JC
Department of Psychology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7801, USA. Jason_Allaire@ncsu.edu
Gamaldo
Alyssa
A
Ayotte
Brian J
BJ
Sims
Regina
R
Whitfield
Keith
K
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015142:Baltimore; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D014505:Urban Population