Do sex and handedness influence general cognition and financial capacity in patients with aMCI and healthy older adults? Emphasis on women's performance.

Abstract

Objectives: The effects of sex and handedness on financial capacity performance remain unexplored both in healthy older adults and in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI).

Methods: The aim of this study was to study the effect of the above factors (sex, handedness, and health condition), following a factorial experimental design; hence, eight groups (each with ten individuals) with similar demographic characteristics (age and education level) were formed consisting of right/left-handed, women/men and healthy/not healthy (with a diagnosis of aMCI) older adults. Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was administered as a measure of general cognitive ability, and Legal Capacity for Property Law Transactions Assessment Scale (LCPLTAS) was used as an indicator of financial capacity; moreover, GDS-15 was used to assess depressive symptomatology. Self-reports of hand preference were also included.

Results: Although as expected healthy men and women regardless of their handedness outperformed aMCI patients on MMSE and LCPLTAS, performance on cash transactions, bank statement management, bill payment, financial decision making, and knowledge of personal assets from LCPLTAS is significantly higher for right-handed aMCI women compared with left-handed aMCI women.

Conclusions: Future research should further elucidate the reasons for this left-handed female patient with aMCI profile in larger groups of patients. This is an exploratory study, and the small sample size limits the strength of conclusions; further studies on this topic are needed.