RESUMO
Objective To obtain the normative data of Nenrobehavioral Cognitive Status Examination (NCSE) in healthy Chinese adults and assess the effects of age, educational level, and gender on the examination results. Methods A total of 100 normal healthy Chinese adults ranging from 18 to 85 years of age were examined with NCSE to obtain the scores of NCSE and the functional items. Rank sum test was used to analyze the variation of the scores between the different groups blocked by educational level, age, and gender. Results Good agreement was found between the normative data provided by NCSE and the measurements in healthy Chinese adults. Significant differences were noted between the young, middle-aged and old people subjects in the scores of the functional items such as comprehension, repetition, memory and judgment (P<0.05). The average total score of NCSE and scores for some functional items (orientation, comprehension, repetition, memory, calculation and similarities) differed significantly between the groups with different education levels (P<0.05), but the gender did not affect the total or item scores of NCSE (P>0.05). Conclusion The NCSE can be applied in examining healthy Chinese adults using the standards provided by the scale, but the impact of age and education level of the subjects should be considered when interpreting the results.