Patterns of everyday technology use and activity involvement in mild cognitive impairment: a five-year follow-up study.
The aims were to describe longitudinal patterns in terms of perceived ability to use everyday technology (ET) and involvement in everyday activities over five years in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and to examine the predictive value of these patterns regarding diagnostic outcomes.



Thirty older adults diagnosed with MCI at inclusion, reported their perceived ability in using ET and involvement in everyday activities on seven occasions over five years. Individual longitudinal case plots and a pattern-oriented analysis were used to compare the participants' distribution in earlier identified stable/ascending, fluctuating and descending patterns of functioning (year 0-2). Fisher's exact test was used for testing the relation between pattern and diagnostic outcomes.



An initial descending pattern of functioning tended to continue; none of these participants later developed a more stable pattern. More congruent trajectories of change appeared over time. Pattern affinity years 0-2 and diagnostic outcome were significantly related (p = .05), with a dementia diagnosis being more likely for those initially displaying an early descending pattern Conclusion: These findings point to a need for early support focusing on the use of ET for persons with MCI who early after diagnosis descend in functioning.
a Division of Occupational Therapy, Department of Neurobiology , Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet , Huddinge , Sweden.
Annicka
A
Hedman
a Division of Occupational Therapy, Department of Neurobiology , Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet , Huddinge , Sweden.|b Department of Occupational Therapy , University of Illinois at Chicago , Chicago , IL , United States.
Anders
0000-0002-8976-2612
A
Kottorp
a Division of Occupational Therapy, Department of Neurobiology , Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet , Huddinge , Sweden.
Louise
L
Nygård
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013672:Technology
Longitudinal studies; activities of daily living; dementia; technology