Assessment of cognitive impairment with the cognitive assessment interview (CAI) was useful for identifying poor psychosocial functioning outcome in patients with psychosis

Abstract

Introduction

Cognitive impairments clearly impact the daily functioning of patients with psychosis.

Objectives

To assess cross-sectionally whether there are differences in the cognitive domains assessed with the CAI, for considering the real-world functioning of a sample of patients with psychosis.

Methods

The sample consisted of 76 patients with a DSM-IV psychotic disorder. Patients were assessed with the cognitive assessment interview (CAI), which is an interview-based measure of cognitive functioning that is intermediate between cognitive functioning and daily functioning, and three subscales of the specific levels of functioning (SLOF), an informant-rated measure of functioning. The CAI was used to assess the patient and an informant, and these scores were integrated into a rater composite score. We divided the sample by a median-split procedure for each of the three functional domains, and then applied ANOVAs to compare the two groups (impaired/not impaired) in the six cognitive domains of the CAI: working memory, attention, verbal memory, problem solving, processing speed, and social cognition.

Results

We found significant differences between the impaired vs. non-impaired groups in most of the cognitive domains assessed with the CAI (Fig. 1).

Conclusions

Interview-based assessment of cognition with the CAI allows for the prediction of everyday functioning in patients with psychosis. Impairment in almost all CAI cognitive domains, except for social cognition, was associated with poorer psychosocial functioning.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Fig. 1