Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Subjective Cognitive Decline and Mild Cognitive Impairment and its Relation to Activities of Daily Living

Background: Health related quality of life (HRQOL) is an important issue in the context of dementia care. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate HRQOL in patients with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and its relation to Activity of Daily Living (ADL). Methods: In this cross sectional study, four experimental groups (each n = 98), controls, SCD, naMCI and aMCI, were compared. For data collection, neuropsychological methods (NTBV) and psychological questionnaires (SF-36 and B-ADL) were used. Multivariate analysis of variance was calculated to detect differences in HRQOL between groups. Correlations between HRQOL and ADL were explored. Results: The dimensions of HRQOL showed mainly consistent differences between the control and the SCD group and MCI subgroups. In almost every dimension of HRQOL, the control group scored higher than subjects with SCD, naMCI, or aMCI. The controls showed low to moderate negative correlations between HQROL and B-ADL in some dimensions of the HRQOL. In the SCD group, low negative correlations with ADL were observed in some HRQOL scales. Low to moderate correlations were found between each scale of the SF-36 and the B-ADL in both MCI subtypes. We found gender differences in HRQOL. Conclusion: In conclusion, we could demonstrate that patients with SCD report reduced quality of life. This knowledge is important to get a better understanding of the individuals with SCD and may pave the way for the development of early intervention.