Difficulties with Fine Motor Skills and Cognitive Impairment in an Elderly Population: The Progetto Veneto Anziani
- Autores: Chiara Curreri, Caterina Trevisan, Pamela Carrer, Silvia Facchini, Valter Giantin, Stefania Maggi, Marianna Nodale, Marina De Rui-, Egle Perissinotto, Sabina Zambon, Gaetano Crepaldi, Enzo Manzato, Giuseppe Sergi
- Localización: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, ISSN 0002-8614, Vol. 66, Nº. 2, 2018, págs. 350-356
- Idioma: inglés
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Resumen
Objectives To investigate dysfunction in fine motor skills in a cohort of older Italian adults, identifying their prevalence and usefulness as indicators and predictors of cognitive impairment.
Design Population‐based longitudinal study with mean follow‐up of 4.4 years.
Setting Community.
Participants Older men and women enrolled in the Progetto Veneto Anziani (Pro.V.A.) (N = 2,361); 1,243 subjects who were cognitively intact at baseline were selected for longitudinal analyses.
Measurements Fine motor skills were assessed by measuring the time needed to successfully complete two functional tasks: putting on a shirt and a manual dexterity task. Cognitive impairment was defined as a Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE) score less than 24.
Results On simple correlation, baseline MMSE score was significantly associated with the manual dexterity task (correlation coefficient (r) = −0.25, P < .001) and time needed to put on a shirt (r = −0.29, P < .001). Over the study period, changes in time needed to perform the fine motor tasks were significantly associated with changes in MMSE (putting on a shirt: β = 0.083, P = .003; manual dexterity task: β = 0.098, P < .001). Logistic regression analyses confirmed that worse results on tasks were associated with cognitive impairment at baseline (odds ratio (OR) = 2.47, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.74–3.50, for the fourth quartile of time needed to put on a shirt; OR = 1.98, 95% CI = 1.42–2.76, for the fourth manual dexterity task quartile) and greater risk of cognitive impairment developing during follow‐up (OR = 4.38, 95% CI = 2.46–7.80, for the fourth quartile of time needed to put on a shirt; OR = 2.20, 95% CI = 1.30–3.72, for the fourth manual dexterity task quartile).
Conclusions Difficulties with fine motor skills are common in older adults, and assessing them may help to identify early signs of dementia, subjects at high risk to develop cognitive decline, and individuals who can be referred to specialists.
