The Multiple Object Test as a Performance Based Tool to Assess Cognitive Driven Activity of Daily Living Function in Parkinson’s Disease

BACKGROUND There is need for multidimensional quantitative assessment of cognitive driven activities of daily living (ADL) functions in Parkinson's disease (PD). OBJECTIVE To determine whether there is an ADL profile related to cognitive impairment in PD assessed by the Multiple Object Test (MOT). We assumed MOT performance to be lower in PD patients versus controls and in PD patients with more severe cognitive impairment. METHODS 50 PD patients with no cognitive impairment (PD-NC), 54 patients with PD-mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI), 29 with Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD), and 40 healthy controls (HC) were investigated. Besides comprehensive cognitive testing, the MOT, a performance based test consisting of five routine tasks (e.g., preparing a cup of coffee), was applied. Quantitative (total errors and time) and qualitative (error type) MOT parameters were analyzed. RESULTS Total time and number of MOT errors was increased in PD patients compared to controls (p