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Mild cognitive impairment and everyday function: evidence of reduced speed in performing instrumental activities of daily living
Wadley VG, Okonkwo O, Crowe M, Ross-Meadows LA.. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 2008-05-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Objective Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) may involve subtle functional losses that are not detected with typical self- or informant-report assessments of daily function. Information about the nature of functional difficulties in MCI can be used to augment common clinical assessment procedures, and aspects of function that are affected in MCI can serve as meaningful endpoints for intervention trials. Design Cross-sectional case and comparison group study. Setting University medical center. Participants Fifty participants with MCI and 59 cognitively normal participants. Measurements The authors compared the groups on dimensions of both speed and accuracy in performing instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), using a standardized Timed IADL measure that evaluates five functional domains commonly encountered in everyday life (telephone use, locating nutrition information on food labels, financial abilities, grocery shopping, medication management). Results Across Timed IADL domains, MCI participants demonstrated accuracy comparable with cognitively normal participants but took significantly longer to complete the functional activities, controlling for depressive symptoms (p Conclusion These results suggest that slower speed of task performance is an important component and perhaps an early marker of functional change in MCI that would not be detected using traditional measurements of daily function. Future research should address the question of whether performance-based functional measures, as well as simple queries regarding whether functional activities take longer than usual to complete, may improve the prediction of future cognitive decline and disease progression among those individuals in whom MCI represents impending dementia.
Key findings
- Results Across Timed IADL domains, MCI participants demonstrated accuracy comparable with cognitively normal participants but took significantly longer to complete the functional activities, controlling for depressive symptoms (p< 0.001).
Why it matters
In this cross-sectional study of 50 people with mild cognitive impairment and 59 cognitively normal people, those with mild cognitive impairment performed everyday tasks like telephone use and medication management just as accurately but significantly more slowly. Slower task speed may be an early marker of functional change, but this study did not test any treatment or follow people over time.
Study details
- Study designcross-sectional
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 38/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a snapshot of people at one point in time. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, so that was left out: it earned 36 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 38 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 4 / 12 | A snapshot of people at one point in time |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2008 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 43 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 2.1 citations a year over 20 year(s) since 2008 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 1 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Lesley A. Ross: h-index 34 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Alabama at Birmingham: institution h-index 1,118 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 18448852) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 36 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 36 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 38 out of 100. |
| Total | 38 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Wadley, V. G., Okonkwo, O., Crowe, M., & Ross-Meadows, L. A. (2008). Mild cognitive impairment and everyday function: evidence of reduced speed in performing instrumental activities of daily living. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1097/jgp.0b013e31816b7303
Vancouver
Wadley VG, Okonkwo O, Crowe M, Ross-Meadows LA. Mild cognitive impairment and everyday function: evidence of reduced speed in performing instrumental activities of daily living. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. 2008. doi:10.1097/jgp.0b013e31816b7303. PMID: 18448852.
BibTeX
@article{wadley2008-18448852,
author = {Wadley, V. G. and Okonkwo, O. and Crowe, M. and Ross-Meadows, L. A.},
title = {{Mild cognitive impairment and everyday function: evidence of reduced speed in performing instrumental activities of daily living}},
journal = {The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry},
year = {2008},
doi = {10.1097/jgp.0b013e31816b7303},
pmid = {18448852},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1097/jgp.0b013e31816b7303}
}
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