Differences in activities of daily living motor skills of persons with and without Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

The purpose of this descriptive comparison study is to determine if persons with dementia of the Alzheimer's type differ from well older controls in the motor skills that affect the quality of performance of activities of daily living, and if so, to identify those specific activities of daily living motor skills that are retained or lost. The Assessment of Motor and Process Skills was administered to a proportionally matched sample of 567 persons with dementia of the Alzheimer's type and 378 community-living non-disabled controls, all of whom were 60 years or older. We found significant differences in mean activities of daily living motor ability between non-disabled controls, higher functioning participants with dementia of the Alzheimer's type, and lower functioning participants with dementia of the Alzhemier's type. Thus, diminished motor skills appear to affect the quality of activities of daily living task performance of persons with dementia of the Alzhemier's type, even those who are higher functioning. These findings suggest that motor skills may need to be addressed in intervention planning for persons with dementia of the Alzheimer's type.