Cognitive reserve and lifestyle in Spanish individuals with sporadic Alzheimer's disease.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Some authors suggest that besides the fundamental components, cognitive reserve (CR) also reflects the influence of a combination of factors that improve mental health. METHOD: After obtaining the sociodemographic profile of each participant and evaluating their neurologic and neuropsychologic abilities, first, homogeneity analysis was used as a technique to select variables and reduce the number of categories with similar behavior; then CR construct was identified through a latent class analysis model. It was then possible to categorize participants according to their level in this construct and compare the neuropsychological performance of the subgroups that emerged, using a t test of differences of means for independent samples. RESULTS: Participants with Alzheimer's disease with low CR scores exhibited significantly greater deficits in measures of memory, attention, and language than patients with high CR. CONCLUSIONS: Our results ratify the effect of higher education, higher professional performance, and ludic activities on CR.