Exploring the relationship between manual dexterity and cognition in people with multiple sclerosis: 9-hole peg and multiple cognitive functions

• Published in: Multiple sclerosis and related disorders 2024-08, Vol.88, p.105696, Article 105696
• Main Authors: Abraham, Rinu, Waldman-Levi, Amiya, Barrera, Marissa A., Bogaardt, Hans, Golan, Daniel, Bergmann, Catherine, Sullivan, Cynthia, Wilken, Jeffrey, Zarif, Myassar, Bumstead, Barbara, Buhse, MariJean, Covey, Thomas J, Doniger, Glen M, Penner, Iris-Katharina, Hancock, Laura M., Morrow, Sarah A., Giroux, Erin, Gudesblatt, Mark
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Cognition; Cognition - physiology; Cognitive Dysfunction - etiology; Cognitive Dysfunction - physiopathology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Male; Manual dexterity; Middle Aged; Motor Skills - physiology; Multiple sclerosis; Multiple Sclerosis - complications; Multiple Sclerosis - physiopathology; Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting - complications; Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting - physiopathology; Neuropsychological Tests; Young Adult
• ISSN: 2211-0348; 2211-0356; 2211-0356
• DOI: 10.1016/j.msard.2024.105696

•Dominant hand manual dexterity was correlated with memory, executive function, processing speed, attention, and motor skills among people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS).•Non-dominant hand manual dexterity was correlated with memory, executive function, attention, and motor skills among PwMS.•Manual dexterity deficit was found to predict cognitive dysfunction among PwMS. Problems with manual dexterity and cognition impact the everyday performance of people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). Accumulated findings point to the relationship between deficits in manual dexterity and auditory domains of cognition with a lack of evidence on visuospatial and verbal aspects of cognitive functioning. Therefore, this study explores the relationship between manual dexterity and cognition in a cohort of PwMS. This cross-sectional study collected data from 63 PwMS aged 22 to 55 through a convenient sampling method. Participants were diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Cognition was measured using a multi-domain computerized cognitive testing, NeuroTrax, and manual dexterity was measured using a 9-hole peg assessment. Spearman correlation was used to identify the correlation among cognition subtests as well as with manual dexterity. Linear regression analysis was also conducted to identify whether manual dexterity predicts cognitive functioning. A significant negative correlation was found between 9-hole peg scores and global cognitive scores (GCS), r = -0.34, p = 006. The manual dexterity scores were also shown to predict GCS, R2= 0.165, p = 0.001. Manual dexterity was found to not only predict cognitive dysfunction but was also associated with multiple cognitive domains. Understanding the relationship between manual dexterity and cognition and the inferred progression of deficits can assist clinicians to provide interventions at earlier stages of disease progression to potentially increase daily functioning and quality of life (QoL).