Using a Functional Upper Limb Motor Task to Predict Cognitive and Functional Decline in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease.
Vincent Koppelmans, Kevin Duff, Sydney Y Schaefer
PMID 40016878WHAT IT FOUND
In adults who were cognitively intact, had mild cognitive impairment, or had Alzheimer's disease, variability on a brief non-dominant hand spoon task predicted one-year change in function and a cognitive test.
Average task time did not predict cognitive change.
Key findings
01Baseline variability on the spoon task predicted one-year change in the QDRS total score.
02Baseline mean spoon task performance predicted QDRS change, but variability, not mean performance, predicted MMSE change.
03The significant associations were small-to-medium in size and survived false discovery rate correction.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The authors state the sample size is modest. The significant associations were small-to-medium in size. The models collapsed cognitively intact, MCI, and AD subjects together, so the paper does not show how well the task predicts change within each group. The sample was 99% Caucasian, so the results may not apply to other populations. The paper does not report how many subjects completed the one-year follow-up or how missing data were handled. It reports prediction, not that acting on the prediction improves patient care.
Declared interests
The supplied publication types list NIH extramural support. Sydney Schaefer is co-founder and managing member of Neurosessments LLC, and Kevin Duff is a member of Neurosessments LLC. Vincent Koppelmans reported no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not tell a patient that a slow or variable spoon task means they will decline. The study reports baseline task scores as predictors of one-year change, with small-to-medium effects and a modest sample.