The relationship between cognitive screeners and everyday functioning in amyloid‐positive participants from the Amsterdam Dementia Cohort

TL;DR

This study shows that cognitive tests like MMSE and MoCA are only moderately linked to daily functioning in people with Alzheimer's disease, highlighting the need to assess both cognition and function.

Contribution

The study reveals that complex daily tasks are impaired even in higher cognitive performance groups, emphasizing the importance of combining cognitive and functional assessments.

Findings

MMSE and MoCA scores were moderately associated with daily functioning as measured by the A-IADL-Q-30.

Higher cognitive performance groups still showed difficulties in complex tasks like work and computer use.

Assessing both cognition and function is crucial for monitoring Alzheimer's disease progression.

Abstract

We explored the relationship between cognitive screening outcomes and everyday functioning in Alzheimer's disease (AD).

A total of 1228 amyloid‐positive participants were included from the Amsterdam Dementia Cohort. Multiple linear regression analyses assessed the relationship between Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and everyday functioning (Amsterdam Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Questionnaire [A‐IADL‐Q‐30]). To link cognitive screeners to functional impairment, we described difficulties across A‐IADL‐Q‐30 items by MMSE and MoCA quartiles.

Both MMSE (B = 0.96, 95% confidence interval [CI]0.87–1.04) and MoCA (B = 0.79, 95% CI 0.68–0.89) were associated with A‐IADL‐Q‐30. In the lowest MMSE (0–20) and MoCA (0–16) quartiles, filling in forms (both 96%) and managing the household budget (95%–93%) were mostly affected, whereas working (74%) and using a computer (52%–50%) were primarily affected in the highest quartiles (MMSE 28–30/MoCA 25–30).

In amyloid‐positive participants, the association between cognition and daily functioning was moderate, reinforcing the importance of assessing both constructs in disease monitoring.

Cognitive screening tools were moderately associated with daily functioning.Difficulties in complex daily tasks were present in the higher cognitive performance quartiles.Findings suggest that combining cognition and function is required for disease monitoring.

Cognitive screening tools were moderately associated with daily functioning.

Difficulties in complex daily tasks were present in the higher cognitive performance quartiles.

Findings suggest that combining cognition and function is required for disease monitoring.

Figures