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J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2006;77:1136-1142 doi:10.1136/jnnp.2006.093146
  • Paper

Attentional deficits affect activities of daily living in dementia-associated with Parkinson’s disease

  1. K Bronnick1,
  2. U Ehrt1,
  3. M Emre2,
  4. P P De Deyn3,
  5. K Wesnes4,
  6. S Tekin5,
  7. D Aarsland1
  1. 1Psychiatric Clinic, Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger, Norway
  2. 2Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey
  3. 3Department of Neurology, General Hospital Middelheim, Antwerpen, Belgium
  4. 4Cognitive Drug Research Ltd, Oxon, UK
  5. 5Novartis Pharmaceuticals, East Hanover, New Jersey, USA
  1. Correspondence to:
 K Brønnick
 Psychiatric Clinic, Stavanger University Hospital, Helse Stavanger, Post Box 8100, 4068 Stavanger, Norway;bronnick{at}gmail.com
  • Received 14 March 2006
  • Accepted 20 June 2006
  • Revised 2 June 2006
  • Published Online First 26 June 2006

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the effects of attentional deficits on activities of daily living (ADL) in patients with dementia associated with Parkinson’s disease (PDD).

Method: 461 patients were assessed neuropsychologically. Factor analyses were used to differentiate attention from other cognitive functions and to differentiate different aspects of ADL functions. The effects of the attentional measure on ADL were examined using sequential multiple regression, controlling for age, sex, education, severity of motor symptoms and other cognitive functions.

Results: Three cognitive factors were identified, with one factor emerging as a measure of vigilance and focused attention. This factor predicted different aspects of ADL status even after controlling for motor functions and other cognitive factors. The attention factor was the single strongest cognitive predictor of ADL status, matching the strength of the effects of motor functions on ADL status.

Conclusion: Impaired attention is an important determinant of ADL functions in patients with PDD.

Footnotes

  • Published Online First 24 June 2006

  • Funding: The study was sponsored by Novartis Pharmaceuticals, USA. KSB received financial support from the Norwegian Research Council.

  • Competing interests: None declared.

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