The Severe Impairment Battery predicts functional abilities in an inpatient geriatric population.

There is limited research examining the relationship between cognition in severe dementia and functional skills. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between the Severe Impairment Battery (SIB) and functional abilities as measured by the Assessment of Instrumental Function (AIF) in an acute inpatient geriatric psychiatry setting. Analyses showed significant correlation between the SIB and the AIF. Multiple regression demonstrated that SIB scores accounted for 44% of the variance in adaptive functioning. These results replicate some of the prior data examining the relationship between the cognition and functional abilities and extend these findings into the inpatient setting with more severely impaired patients.