TY - JOUR
T1 - Association between dual-task function and neuropsychological testing in older adults with cognitive impairment
AU - Petrillo, Kelsi
AU - Javed, Bilaval
AU - Toosizadeh, Nima
N1 - Funding Information:
This project was supported by an award from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) (award number: 1 R21 AG055852-01 ). The findings of this manuscript are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NIA. Thanks to Sarah Fakhoury, Daniel Gaytan-Jenkins, and Anthony Lopez for data collection, and to Banner Sun Health Research Institute's Longevity Study participants for their generous participation.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors
PY - 2023/7
Y1 - 2023/7
N2 - Introduction: Despite the current high prevalence of dementia, more than half of older adult patients never receive an evaluation. Current evaluation methods are lengthy, cumbersome, and not viable for busy clinics. This indicates that, despite recent improvements, a quick and objective routine test for screening cognitive decline in older adults is still needed. Poor dual-task gait performance has been previously associated with decreased executive and neuropsychological function. However, gait tests are not always viable for clinics or older patients. Methods: The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between a novel upper-extremity function (UEF) dual-task performance and neuropsychological test results in older adults. For UEF dual-tasks, participants performed a consistent elbow flexion and extension, while counting backwards in increments of threes or ones. Wearable motion sensors were attached to the forearm and upper-arm to measure accuracy and speed of elbow flexion kinematics to calculate a UEF cognitive score. Results: We recruited older adults at three stages: cognitively normal (CN) (n = 35), mild cognitively impaired (MCI) of the Alzheimer's type (n = 34), and Alzheimer's disease (AD) (n = 22). The results demonstrate significant correlations between UEF cognitive score and mini-mental state examination (MMSE), Mini-Cog, Category fluency, Benson complex figure copy, Trail making test, and Montreal cognitive assessment (MOCA) (r values between −0.2355 and −0.6037 and p < 0.0288). Discussion: UEF dual-task was associated with executive function, orientation, repetition, abstraction, verbal recall, attention and calculation, language and visual construction. Of the associated brain domains, UEF dual-task was most significantly associated with executive function, visual construction, and delayed recall. The results from this study convey potential for UEF dual-task as a safe and convenient cognitive impairment screening method.
AB - Introduction: Despite the current high prevalence of dementia, more than half of older adult patients never receive an evaluation. Current evaluation methods are lengthy, cumbersome, and not viable for busy clinics. This indicates that, despite recent improvements, a quick and objective routine test for screening cognitive decline in older adults is still needed. Poor dual-task gait performance has been previously associated with decreased executive and neuropsychological function. However, gait tests are not always viable for clinics or older patients. Methods: The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between a novel upper-extremity function (UEF) dual-task performance and neuropsychological test results in older adults. For UEF dual-tasks, participants performed a consistent elbow flexion and extension, while counting backwards in increments of threes or ones. Wearable motion sensors were attached to the forearm and upper-arm to measure accuracy and speed of elbow flexion kinematics to calculate a UEF cognitive score. Results: We recruited older adults at three stages: cognitively normal (CN) (n = 35), mild cognitively impaired (MCI) of the Alzheimer's type (n = 34), and Alzheimer's disease (AD) (n = 22). The results demonstrate significant correlations between UEF cognitive score and mini-mental state examination (MMSE), Mini-Cog, Category fluency, Benson complex figure copy, Trail making test, and Montreal cognitive assessment (MOCA) (r values between −0.2355 and −0.6037 and p < 0.0288). Discussion: UEF dual-task was associated with executive function, orientation, repetition, abstraction, verbal recall, attention and calculation, language and visual construction. Of the associated brain domains, UEF dual-task was most significantly associated with executive function, visual construction, and delayed recall. The results from this study convey potential for UEF dual-task as a safe and convenient cognitive impairment screening method.
KW - Aging
KW - Alzheimer's disease
KW - Dual-task
KW - Motor function
KW - Neuropsychological testing
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U2 - 10.1016/j.exger.2023.112223
DO - 10.1016/j.exger.2023.112223
M3 - Article
C2 - 37244373
AN - SCOPUS:85160348805
SN - 0531-5565
VL - 178
JO - Experimental Gerontology
JF - Experimental Gerontology
M1 - 112223
ER -