The Nurse Asks an Older Adult Patient to Count Backward

The nurse asks an older adult patient to count backward from 100 in increments of three; the patient counts correctly until the nurse stops the process. Which reason does the nurse identify as a likely cause of long periods of hesitation during the process?

A) Normal loss of neurons related to aging
B) Early manifestation of dementia
C) Normal delay in problem solving
D) Result of malnutrition and depression