Affiliations: [a] School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| [b]
Center for Alzheimer’s Care, Imaging, and Research, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Correspondence:
[*]
Correspondence to: Sydney Y. Schaefer, PhD, School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, 501 E. Tyler Mall, MC 9709, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA. E-mail: sydney.schaefer@asu.edu
Abstract: Affordable, noninvasive methods of predicting functional decline are needed for individuals at risk for Alzheimer’s disease. This study tested whether a timed upper-extremity motor task predicted functional decline over one year in 79 adults diagnosed with amnestic mild cognitive impairment. Participants completed subjective and objective measures of daily functioning at baseline and one year later. Motor task performance and delayed memory were also evaluated at baseline. Motor task performance was a significant predictor of one-year follow-up daily functioning, improving model fits by 18– 35%. Thus, motor behavior has potential to be an affordable enrichment strategy that is sensitive to functional decline.
Keywords: Activities of daily living, functional decline, mild cognitive impairment, motor behavior
