Objective:

We compared the cognitive functions of Alzheimer disease (AD) patients who were robust, frail or pre-frail and hypothesized that declines in frontal cortex-related neuropsychological function would be associated with frailty.

Method:

One hundred and sixty outpatients aged 65 years or older with mild AD were enrolled. Cognitive function was assessed using the Cognitive Ability Screening Instrument and further classified into 4 clusters (recent memory, frontal cortex cluster, posterior cortex cluster, and orientation). Other variables included depressive mood, daily activities, body mass index, handgrip strength (HGS), and normal gait speed (NGS).

Results:

Performance in daily activities, and slower NGS than robust group. Both the frail and pre-frail groups had lower HGS and more depressive symptoms than robust group. Generalized linear with ordinal logistic analysis showed that increment in age, slowing in NGS, and worse frontal cortex cluster function associated with being in a higher level of frailty. The patients with depression symptoms were the odds of being in a higher level of frailty compared to those without depression symptoms.

Conclusions:

In addition to physical and psychological symptoms, frailty is associated with specific cognitive domains in patients with AD. A multidimensional approach should be used to assess the impact of intervention programs focusing on frail patients with AD.

中文翻译：

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衰弱与阿尔茨海默病患者的额叶皮质相关认知功能有关

客观的：

我们比较了健壮、虚弱或体弱前的阿尔茨海默病 (AD) 患者的认知功能，并假设额叶皮层相关神经心理功能的下降与虚弱有关。

方法：

招募了 160 名 65 岁或以上患有轻度 AD 的门诊患者。认知功能使用认知能力筛选工具进行评估，并进一步分为 4 个集群（近期记忆、额叶皮质集群、后皮质集群和方向）。其他变量包括抑郁情绪、日常活动、体重指数、握力 (HGS) 和正常步态速度 (NGS)。

结果：

在日常活动中的表现，以及比健壮组慢的 NGS。与健壮组相比，虚弱组和虚弱组的 HGS 更低，抑郁症状更多。具有序数逻辑分析的广义线性表明，年龄增加、NGS 减慢和额叶皮层簇功能较差与处于较高的虚弱程度相关。与没有抑郁症状的患者相比，有抑郁症状的患者虚弱程度更高。

结论：

除了身体和心理症状外，衰弱与 AD 患者的特定认知领域有关。应使用多维方法来评估针对 AD 体弱患者的干预计划的影响。