Association between schizophrenia symptoms and neurocognition on mobility in older adults with schizophrenia

^†Preliminary results were presented at the 2011 annual meeting of the Gerontological Society of America and at the 2012 Translational Science Meeting.

Abstract

Objectives: Older persons with schizophrenia develop problems associated with aging, such as poor mobility, at more rapid rates than people without serious mental illness. Decrements in mobility contribute to poor health outcomes. Impaired neurocognitive function and psychiatric symptoms are central aspects of schizophrenia. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between neurocognitive impairment and schizophrenia symptoms to mobility in older adults with schizophrenia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study with 46 older adults with schizophrenia. Participants were assessed on neurocognitive function (MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery), psychiatric symptoms (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale or PANSS), and mobility (Timed Get Up and Go or TGUG test). Pearson's bivariate correlations (two-tailed) and a simultaneous regression model were used.

Results: Lower severity of negative symptoms and faster speed of processing tests were associated with faster TGUG time in bivariate correlations and multivariate regression analyses (p < .05).

Conclusion: Our data suggest that lower negative symptoms and faster speed of processing positively impact mobility in older patients with schizophrenia. Mobility interventions for this population need to target neurocognitive impairment and schizophrenia symptoms for optimal results.

Keywords:

• schizophrenia and paranoid disorders
• functional status
• cognitive functioning

Notes

^† Preliminary results were presented at the 2011 annual meeting of the Gerontological Society of America and at the 2012 Translational Science Meeting.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the UCSF Academic Senate [Individual Investigator Grant]; National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health through UCSF-CTSI [grant number KL2TR000143]; and the National Institute of Nursing Research [grant number P30-NR011934-0] to H. Leutwyler. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Center for Research Resources or the National Institutes of Health.