Effects of Education on Differential Item Functioning on the 15-Item Modified Korean Version of the Boston Naming Test

OBJECTIVE: Education is expected to have an effect on differential item functioning (DIF) on the 15-item Modified Boston Naming Test in the Korean version of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Packet (BNT-KC). However, no study has examined DIF in the BNT-KC. METHODS: We used the item response theory to investigate the impact of education on the DIF in the BNT-KC among elderly individuals with or without dementia (n=720). A two-parameter item response model was used to determine the difficulty and discrimination parameters of each item. The Benjamini-Hochberg procedure was used to address the risk of Type I errors on multiple testing. RESULTS: Four items, “mermaid,”“acorn,”“compass,” and “pomegranate” continued to demonstrate DIF after controlling for multiple comparisons. Those with low education levels were more likely to error on “mermaid” and “compass,” while those with high education levels were more likely to error on “acorn” and “pomegranate.”“Hand” and “red pepper” were too easily identified to be used for detecting dementia patients. “Monk's hat” and “pomegranate” were less discriminating than other items, limiting their usefulness in clinical setting. CONCLUSION: These findings may provide useful information for the development of a revised version of the BNT-KC to help clinicians make diagnostic decisions more accurately.

Elder Abuse

Just these days elder abuse receives increasing social attention even though Korea already entered the ageing society with the steep increase of elderly population and this causes many social problems including elderly suicides. We need to develop methods to deal with these severe social problems, but, owing to lack of reliable data and studies, it is even difficult to document actual conditions of elder maltreatment. In a Korean nationwide epidemiological study conducted in 2007, the prevalence rate of elder abuse for last one year was 6.0%. Emotional abuse showed the highest prevalence (5.2%), and followed by neglect (2.3%), physical abuse (0.2%). The purpose of this study is to investigate the current prevalence and condition of elder maltreatment and provide the information about concept, types, risk factors and intervention of elder maltreatment.

Elder Abuse

Just these days elder abuse receives increasing social attention even though Korea already entered the ageing society with the steep increase of elderly population and this causes many social problems including elderly suicides. We need to develop methods to deal with these severe social problems, but, owing to lack of reliable data and studies, it is even difficult to document actual conditions of elder maltreatment. In a Korean nationwide epidemiological study conducted in 2007, the prevalence rate of elder abuse for last one year was 6.0%. Emotional abuse showed the highest prevalence (5.2%), and followed by neglect (2.3%), physical abuse (0.2%). The purpose of this study is to investigate the current prevalence and condition of elder maltreatment and provide the information about concept, types, risk factors and intervention of elder maltreatment.

Evaluation of Self-Awareness of Memory Impairment in Elderly Community / 신경정신의학

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to evaluate discrepancies between self-awareness of memory functions and actual memory functions in the elderly community. METHODS: A total of 369 individuals aged over 65 years from four elderly community centers completed clinical evaluation, neuropsychological batteries of the Korean version of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's disease (CERAD-K), the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL), and the Hachinski Ischemic Score. RESULTS: Among the elderly particpants, 26.3% showed incorrect awareness regarding their memory function. Those with subjective memory complaints included 73.5% with no memory impairment, while those without memory complaints included 11.3% of those with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and 4.3% of those with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Subjective memory complaints were significantly associated with depression. Among the elderly with no memory complaints, incorrect awareness was associated with 'no previous education' (OR 3.6, 95% CI 1.3-9.8), 'age over 80' (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.1-5.4), and 'male' (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.0-5.2) ; however, it was not significantly associated with depression. CONCLUSION: Incorrect awareness of memory impairment is prevalent among the elderly. Further, elderly individuals of an advanced age with no education may have memory impairment without memory complaints.