Characteristics of instrumental activities of daily living and everyday memory in elderly women--method for assessment of abilities in early dementia

AIM: To demonstrate the characteristics of the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL), assessed by the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS), and everyday memory functions (memory necessary function for daily life) assessed by the Rivermead Behavioral Memory Test (RBMT) in elderly people with dementia. To compare the ability and the function between them and community-dwelling normal subjects. METHODS: We divided the RBMT result into three categories: prospective memory, retrospective memory, and prospective memory+retrospective memory. The study was performed in102 women (68-92 years old) with dementia who lived in a healthcare facility or three group homes (n=52) and cognitively normal subjects who lived in their own homes (n=50). RESULTS: There were no associations between AMPS motor and prospective memory, retrospective memory, and prospective memory+retrospective memory in both groups. There were associations between the AMPS process and retrospective memory in both groups, but no associations between the AMPS process and prospective memory in either groups and a scatter chart revealed some subjects with a prospective memory deficit even though they had a normal IADL performance ability level. From those results, we found that IADL performance ability and everyday memory were not simultaneously damaged. CONCLUSION: When assessing elderly people, it is necessary to assess both IADL performance and everyday memory, including prospective memory. According to these methods, mild cognitive impairment may be screened more accurately.