The Cognitive Impact of Chronic Diseases on Functional Capacity in Community-Dwelling Adults

Background: People with chronic diseases may experience poor cognitive functioning associated with advanced age, progression of disease, or other comorbid chronic conditions. Empirical evidence of this phenomenon is limited despite the clinical relevance of cognitive decline and associated adverse outcomes such as poor physical functioning. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine cognitive functioning in the domains of memory, attention, and executive function and its association with functional capacity in a sample of community-dwelling adults with a spectrum of chronic diseases. Methods: An exploratory cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of community-dwelling adults with chronic diseases, including hypertension (58.9%), diabetes mellitus (DM; 20.0%), and dyslipidemia (14.4%). Participants’ mean age was 64.1 ± 11.2 years, and 48.9% were male. Ninety persons completed the face-to-face interviews, which evaluated cognitive functioning in the domains of memory, attention, and executive function using neuropsychological tests and the physical well-being test, which measured functional capacity using the Duke Activity Status Index. Results: Compared with those with other chronic diseases, our sample with hypertension and DM had significantly more memory loss and poorer executive function. These significant differences were nullified when adjusting for age, gender, and education. Approximately one third had functional limitations (n = 29, 32.2%)...
Source: Journal of Nursing Research - Category: Nursing Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLES Source Type: research