Predictors of longitudinal changes in memory, visuospatial, andverbal functioning in very old demented adults
B.J. Small
Bok Engelsk 1998
| Utgitt | 1998
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| Omfang | Side 258- 266
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| Opplysninger | Longitudinal changes in memory, visuospatial and verbal functioningin a sample of demented persons were examined. The role of severaldemographic, psychometric, and biological indices in predicting therate of cognitive deterioration was also investigated. The sampleconsisted of 31 very old (mean age at entry = 83.5 years, range = 75-95) persons with Alzheimer's disease (n = 22) and vascular dementia(n = 9) from a community-based study. Subjects were tested on twooccasions separated by approximately 2.5 years. Results indicatedsignificant longitudinal decline in verbal fluency and visuospatialability, but only on 1 of 3 measures of episodic memory. Results fromregression analyses indicated that a variety of putatively importantvariables, including age, gender, education, digit span, as well as anumber of biological (vitamin B-12, TSH), dementia etiology, andpsychometric (digit span) indicators, exhibited no relationship torate of memory, visuospatial, or verbal decline. The results suggestthat the rate of cognitive deterioration in dementia is highlyvariable, and this variability in change appears to include a varietyof characteristics. A possible reason thereof may be that the role ofindividual-difference variables for cognitive functioning in dementiais overshadowed by the pathogenetic process itself.
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