Monitoring daily life activity shows less activity among female dementia patients

Background An objective assessment of activity levels in dementia patients during their routine daily lives could be useful when evaluating them, as questionnaires given to patients and caregivers on this subject matter are often subjective. In the present study, we tried to develop an objective method to evaluate the daily life activity of dementia patients. Methods We recruited six age‐matched healthy controls, 10 mild cognitive impairment patients and 14 patients with dementia. The cause of dementia was mostly Alzheimer's disease in origin; just two patients were diagnosed with dementia as a result of other causes. Participants and caregivers consented to wear an accelerometer in order to measure their daily physical activity. The Mini‐Mental State Examination Japanese version, Functional Activity Questionnaire Japanese version and Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire Form Japanese version were obtained during the evaluation period. The participants were required to wear the device over a 3‐month period and for at least four waking hours per day. The device is capable of discriminating between active walking or running and ordinary household daily activities. We analyzed the total amount of exercise carried out and calorie consumption, based on the pattern of activity obtained. Results Female patients with dementia showed a significant reduction in physical activity, whereas male patients did not show any decline. There was a mild correlation between physical activity and both the Mini‐Mental State Examination Japanese version and Functional Activity Questionnaire Japanese version. Conclusion The results reflect a tendency for female dementia patients to be reluctant to carry out physical activity during their daily lives, thus highlighting the potential beneficial use of this method to evaluate dementia severity, including the therapeutic response to various interventions.