Publication Abstract Display
Type: Published Abstract
Title: Neuropsychological performance predicts everyday functioning in HIV+ individuals.
Authors: Reicks CJ, Moore DJ, Dawson LK, Marcotte TD, Heaton RK, Grant I, and the HNRC Group
Year: 1999
Publication: Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society
Volume: 5 Issue: 2 Pages: 154
Abstract:Most neuropsychological (NP) tests consist of laboratory measures of cognitive abilities which have been assumed to impact real-life activities of daily living. However, it remains unclear whether standard NP tests actually measure those abilities required to accomplish everyday tasks.We have developed a measure of everyday functioning that examines four independent living tasks: cooking, ordering from a restaurant, paying bills– managing a checkbook, and managing a medication regimen. The purpose of the current study is to use this newly developed measure to explore further the relevance of NP impairments to everyday functioning in HIV infected persons, a population in which mild neurocognitive deficits have often been observed.We examined 84 HIV+ participants who had a mean age of 37.8 (SD 6.5) and an average of 13.2 (SD 2.2) years of education. Each participant completed a comprehensive NP battery and our newly developed measure of everyday functioning which requires attention, planning, decision making, and multitasking skills. Regression analyses revealed that global NP performance significantly predicted performance on the total everyday functioning score, explaining 36% of the variance. In addition, the NP impaired group performed significantly worse than their NP normal counterparts on the total score for the everyday functioning task, as well as on each of the four everyday functioning subtests. These significant findings yield strong support for the value of this newly developed instrument in detecting subtle neurocognitive deficits that may impact daily living skills.

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