Artikel
The assessment of changes in cognitive functioning: Age-, education-, and gender-specific Reliable Change Indices (RCIs) for older adults tested on the CERAD-NP battery. Results of the German Study on Ageing, Cognition and Dementia in Primary Care Patients (AgeCoDe)
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Veröffentlicht: | 20. September 2011 |
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Gliederung
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Background/Aims: The diagnosis of dementia requires reliable evidence about decline in cognitive functioning over time. The CERAD-NP battery represents a commonly used neuropsychological instrument to measure cognitive functioning in the elderly. Normative data for changes in cognitive function that normally occur in cognitively healthy individuals is crucial to interpret changes in CERAD-NP test scores.
Methods: As part of the German Study on Ageing, Cognition and Dementia in Primary Care Patients (AgeCoDe Study), a sample of 1,450 cognitively healthy individuals, aged 75 years and older, was assessed three times at 1.5 year intervals over a period of 3 years using selected subtests of the CERAD-NP battery. Age-, education-, and gender-specific Reliable Change Indices (RCIs) were computed for a 90% confidence interval.
Results: Across different age, education and gender subgroups, changes from at least 6 to 9 points in Verbal Fluency, 4 to 8 points in Word List Memory, 2 to 4 points in Word List Recall and 1 to 4 points in Word List Recognition indicated significant (i.e. reliable) changes in CERAD-NP test scores at the 90% confidence level.
Conclusion: Smaller changes in CERAD-NP test scores can be interpreted only with high uncertainty because of probable measurement error, practice effects and normal age-related cognitive decline. This study provides age-, education-, and gender-specific CERAD-NP reference values for the interpretation of cognitive changes in older age groups.