Predictors of instrumental activities of daily living in community-dwelling older adults.
Graham J McDougall, Areum Han, Vincent S Staggs and 2 others
PMID 31711593WHAT IT FOUND
Older adults who were better at holding and changing information in working memory performed more accurately at managing medications and finances.
No measured thinking skill predicted shopping or phone and letter tasks.
Key findings
01A 1 SD higher score on updating was associated with a 4.8 higher percentage correct score on medications, a 3.1 higher percentage correct score on financial skills, and a 0.3 SD higher score on grip strength.
02A 1 SD higher score on shifting was associated with a 0.3 SD higher score on grip strength.
03Inhibition was not significantly associated with the outcome measures, and no executive function predicted communication or shopping scores.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study used 51 community-dwelling older adults, so the sample was small. Participants were 50 White and 1 Hispanic native English speakers, so results may not apply to other cultural or language groups. The design measured associations at one time, so it cannot show that updating causes better medication or financial performance. Participants had multiple health conditions, and the researchers did not control for health conditions because the sample size was limited. The researchers made many statistical comparisons and noted that some significant results could occur by chance. The DAFS-E was still being developed, with internal consistency reliability of 0.68 for the sub-scales when the writing a check sub-scale was removed. The DAFS-E included easy items and an automated phone refill task that some participants said they no longer use.
Declared interests
The supplied text does not provide an author conflict-of-interest statement. The article is tagged as supported by NIH extramural and non-U.S. government research funding.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that improving updating will improve medication management, finances, or independence. The study measured associations in older adults at one time and did not test cognitive training or any treatment.