A conceptual model for achieving well-being in adults with mild cognitive impairment.

OBJECTIVE: Low well-being is common among people with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). We propose a model to examine how different types of resources work together to maintain well-being in people with MCI. METHODS: Participants included 121 community dwelling adults over the age of 60 who were diagnosed with MCI. Structural equation modeling assessed suggested relationships between resources and well-being. RESULTS: Emotional intelligence, general mental ability, morbidity, economic status, basic activities of daily living, and age were correlated to well-being in a triple mediation process through cognitive function, instrumental activities of daily living, and social support. Model fit was excellent (RMSEA-0.04; IFI-.96; CFI-.96; CMIN/DF-1.23), CONCLUSION: Achieving well-being when coping with MCI requires a combination of objective resources and subjective evaluation of the situation. Ultimately, social support determines an individual's level of well-being. Findings suggest the need to understand what kind of social support is required by those coping with MCI.

The right kind of smart: emotional intelligence's relationship to cognitive status in community-dwelling older adults.

OBJECTIVES: To examine whether emotional intelligence (EI) is associated with cognitive function (CF) in a sample of community-dwelling, non-demented elderly out-patients. DESIGN: Correlational cross-sectional study. SETTING: Two memory clinics in an urban community in central Israel. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals age 60 and older without dementia, recruited from two memory clinics (N = 151). MEASUREMENTS: Health history was obtained from medical charts. All participants underwent tests measuring CF, basic and instrumental function, general mental ability (GMA), EI, and depression. RESULTS: Mean age of the participants was 79 years (SD = 7.00) with 96 females (63.6%). Mean score for Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was 21.62 (SD = 3.09) and for EI was 14.08 (SD = 3.30). Linear multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine associations of CF with EI while controlling for gender, age, education, GMA, and Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). Age, education, GMA, and CCI were significant correlates of CF and accounted for 31.1% of the variance [F(7,143) = 10.8, p<0.01] in CF. EI was added in the second block and was the factor most strongly associated with CF, explaining an additional 9.1% (a total of 40.2%) of the variance in CF [F(8,142) = 13.2, p<0.01]. CONCLUSION: This study is the first to show the association between EI and CF in older adults. Future prospective studies are needed to explicate the possibility of EI as a protective factor against cognitive decline.

Self-Reported Questionnaire to Evaluate Functional Abilities in Middle Age: A Call for Delphi Expert Panel.

Early detection of functional decline is important for promoting optimal aging. Self-reported questionnaires can efficiently assess functional abilities. Therefore, we aimed to highlight the lack of functional ability assessment questionnaires for the middle-aged population (MA, 45-65 years) and the need to develop such a questionnaire. An online search was performed to find questionnaires quantifying self-reported performance and functional abilities at MA. We also conducted an online survey of a group of the MA population and interviewed individuals who reported age-related functional decline. Eight potentially relevant questionnaires were found, and one hundred and twenty-three individuals responded to our survey, five of whom were interviewed. None of the questionnaires were specifically designed to assess functional capacity at MA, and most of the questionnaires are likely to have a ceiling effect in assessing the MA population. Furthermore, the questionnaires do not capture functions related to dynamic balance, flexibility, and maximum strength, which are reported as difficult by our respondents, making them less appropriate for assessing function at MA. There is a need to engage a Delphi expert panel of several relevant healthcare professionals to develop a functional capacity assessment questionnaire for MA.