Prospective Memory, Level of Disability, and Return to Work in Severe Mental Illness

Cynthia Z Burton Lea Vella Elizabeth W Twamley 

 

• PMID: 29480043

Abstract

Objective: Prospective memory (the ability to remember to do things) has clear implications for everyday functioning, including employment, in people with severe mental illnesses (SMI). This study aimed to evaluate prospective memory performance and its relationship to real-world functional variables in an employment-seeking sample of people with SMI (Clinical Trial registration number NCT00895258).

Method: 153 individuals with DSM-IV diagnosis of depression (n = 58), bipolar disorder (n = 37), or schizophrenia (n = 58) who were receiving outpatient psychiatric care at a university clinic enrolled in a trial of supported employment and completed a baseline assessment. Prospective memory was measured with the Memory for Intentions Test (MIST); real-world functional status included work history variables, clinical history variables, baseline functional capacity (UCSD Performance-based Skills Assessment-Brief), and work outcomes (weeks worked and wages earned during two years of supported employment).

Results: Participants with schizophrenia performed worse on the MIST than did those with affective disorders. Independent of diagnosis, education, and estimated intellectual functioning, prospective memory significantly predicted variance in measures of disability and illness burden (disability benefits, hospitalization history, current functional capacity), and work outcomes over two years of supported employment (weeks worked).

Conclusions: Worse prospective memory appears to be associated with greater illness burden and functional disability in SMI. Mental health clinicians and employment specialists may counsel clients to use compensatory prospective memory strategies to improve work performance and decrease functional disability associated with SMI.

Keywords: Episodic memory; everyday functioning; schizophrenia; supported employment.

 

출처: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29480043-prospective-memory-level-of-disability-and-return-to-work-in-severe-mental-illness/

불러오는 중입니다...

전향기억은 아직 연구가 잘 안 된 분야로 여겨집니다. 과거를 얼마나 잘 기억하느냐 만큼 중요한 것이 앞으로 해야 할 일을 얼마나 잘 기억하느냐이며, 심한 정신질환(이 연구에서는 조현병, 양극성장애, 우울장애 환자 전체를 가리킵니다)을 지닌 사람의 전향기억이 illness burden (disability benefits, hospitalization history, current functional capacity) 및 직업 능력과 밀접한 연관을 지닌다는 내용입니다.

 

치매 평가 시에도 전향기억 검사를 도입할 필요가 있다는 연구자들의 주장이 있습니다. MCI나 AD에서의 IADL과 전향기억이 밀접한 관련이 있을 것 같은데 이런 연구도 누군가 이미 했을 것 같긴 하네요. 아무튼 기존 기억 과제들과 최대한 중첩되지 않게, 그리고 서로 간에 영향을 덜 미치게끔 전향기억을 신경심리평가 안에 위치시키는 것이 관건일 듯합니다.