title: Relationship between activities of daily living and cognitive ability in a sample of older adults with heterogeneous educational level.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A number of studies have shown the impact of cognitive abilities on instrumental activities of daily living, in particular executive functions. Nevertheless, it is not clear to what extent these results can be generalized, given that most samples studied have not included people with a low educational level.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The current study aims to investigate the association between cognitive abilities and activities of daily living in older adults - with and without dementia - from a middle-income country.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample consisted of 48 healthy older adults and 29 people with dementia, who were evaluated in an Outpatient Care Unit in a University Reference Center in Rio de Janeiro.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Regression analyses indicated that the best predictors for activities of daily living were performance in immediate verbal memory in the case of controls and in a categorical fluency task in the patient group. The educational level itself was not a significant predictor of functional ability in either sample, but showed moderate correlation with the predictors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that educational level may be a mediating factor in the association of cognitive variables and activities of daily living, and indicate a potential dissociation in terms of predictors according to the diagnostic status, pointing to relevant treatment directions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ; Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Daniel C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Mograbi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Camila de Assis
authors.initials: Cde A
authors.lastname: Faria
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Helenice Charchat
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Fichman
authors.affiliation: Internal Medicine, Research Laboratory on Human Aging - GeronLab, Rio de Janeiro State University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Emylucy Martins Paiva
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Paradela
authors.affiliation: Internal Medicine, Research Laboratory on Human Aging - GeronLab, Rio de Janeiro State University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Roberto Alves
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Lourenço
keywords: Activities of daily living; aging; dementia; executive functions; memory
references.citation: Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2008 May;16(5):375-83
references.pmid: 18332397
references.citation: Arch Neurol. 2009 Sep;66(9):1151-7
references.pmid: 19752306
references.citation: Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 1994 Dec;52(4):457-65
references.pmid: 7611936
references.citation: Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 2008 Dec;66(4):809-13
references.pmid: 19099116
references.citation: Gerontologist. 1969 Autumn;9(3):179-86
references.pmid: 5349366
references.citation: Dement Neuropsychol. 2011 Oct-Dec;5(4):322-327
references.pmid: 29213759
references.citation: Appl Neuropsychol. 2002;9(3):187-91
references.pmid: 12584085
references.citation: Cad Saude Publica. 2005 Jan-Feb;21(1):7-19
references.pmid: 15692633
references.citation: J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2007 Oct;62(10):1134-41
references.pmid: 17921427
references.citation: Neurology. 2002 Jul 23;59(2):198-205
references.pmid: 12136057
references.citation: Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 1997 Mar;55(1):56-61
references.pmid: 9332561
references.citation: J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2006 Dec;61(12):1330-7
references.pmid: 17234830
references.citation: J Am Geriatr Soc. 2005 Jan;53(1):11-7
references.pmid: 15667370
references.citation: Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2002 Sep;17(9):828-34
references.pmid: 12221656
references.citation: Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 2005 Mar;63(1):119-26
references.pmid: 15830077
references.citation: Arch Clin Neuropsychol. 1999 Feb;14(2):167-77
references.pmid: 14590600
references.citation: Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 2003 Jun;61(2B):339-45
references.pmid: 12894264
references.citation: Br J Psychiatry. 1988 Feb;152:209-13
references.pmid: 3167337
references.citation: J Psychiatr Res. 1975 Nov;12(3):189-98
references.pmid: 1202204
references.citation: J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2007 Sep;13(5):747-57
references.pmid: 17521485
references.citation: Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2002 Feb;17(2):164-9
references.pmid: 11813280
references.citation: Appl Neuropsychol. 2007;14(3):208-14
references.pmid: 17848131
references.citation: Dement Neuropsychol. 2010 Apr-Jun;4(2):126-130
references.pmid: 29213675
references.citation: Cad Saude Publica. 2008 Apr;24(4):879-86
references.pmid: 18392366
references.citation: Rev Saude Publica. 2003 Feb;37(1):40-8
references.pmid: 12488919
references.citation: Age Ageing. 2006 May;35(3):240-5
references.pmid: 16513677