Cognitive impairment and degree of dependence in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease
Keywords:
cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease, degree of dependencyAbstract
Introduction: Alzheimer's disease is a chronic and progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects the brain. As the disease progresses, symptoms worsen and can include memory loss, disorientation, mood swings, difficulty performing daily activities, sleep disturbances, and loss of the ability to make appropriate judgments and decisions.
Objective: To determine the relationship between cognitive decline and the degree of dependence in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.
Method: A cross-sectional, descriptive, observational study was conducted. The sample consisted of all patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease treated at International Center for Neurological Restoration from January to July 2023. The sample selected by probability sampling consisted of 30 patients diagnosed with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease. The sociodemographic variables were age, education, sex, and race, as well as the degree of dependence and cognitive impairment. Cognitive functions and the degree of dependence were assessed using neuropsychological profile instruments.
Results: All patients showed some degree of cognitive impairment, with very mild and mild predominating, with varying degrees of functional capacity. Thirteen of the patients evaluated showed complete independence, while the rest showed a high degree of dependence.
Conclusions: There is an inverse correlation between both variables in the selected sample; this seems to indicate that a greater degree of cognitive impairment is related to a lower degree of functional independence.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Ivette Cabrera Abreu, Enrique Casabona Fernández , Yordanka Ricardo de la Fe , Saskia Llinar Castillo , Nancy Pavon Fuentes , Teresa Morgado Vega , Deymi Reconde Suarez
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