Your browser doesn't support javascript.
loading
Show: 20 | 50 | 100
Results 1 - 20 de 37
Filter
1.
BMC Geriatr ; 24(1): 53, 2024 Jan 11.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38212693

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy and reliability of a new, brief questionnaire, 'Brief Assessment of Impaired Cognition- Questionnaire' (BASIC-Q) for detection of cognitive impairment, primarily developed for use in primary care. BASIC-Q has three components: Self-report, Informant report, and Orientation. Self-report and Orientation are completed by the individual and Informant report is answered by a close relative. METHODS: We included 275 participants ≥ 70 years, without a prior diagnosis of dementia, and with a close relative who agreed to participate as an informant. Participants were included prospectively in 14 general practices in urban and rural Denmark using a convenience sampling method. The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS), the informant-completed Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ) and reported memory concern were used as a reference standard for the classification of the participants' cognitive function. RESULTS: BASIC-Q demonstrated a fair to good diagnostic accuracy to differentiate between people with cognitive impairment and normal cognition with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.84 (95% CI 0.79-0.89) and a sensitivity and specificity of 0.80 (95% CI 0.72-0.87) and 0.71 (95% CI 0.63-0.78). A prorated BASIC-Q score derived from BASIC-Q without Informant report had significantly lower classification accuracy than the full BASIC-Q. The test-retest reliability of BASIC-Q was good with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.84. CONCLUSION: BASIC-Q is a brief, easy-to-use questionnaire for identification of cognitive impairment in older adults. It demonstrated fair to good classification accuracy in a general practice setting and can be a useful case-finding tool when suspecting dementia in primary health care.


Subject(s)
Cognitive Dysfunction , Dementia , Humans , Aged , Dementia/diagnosis , Reproducibility of Results , Cognitive Dysfunction/diagnosis , Surveys and Questionnaires , Sensitivity and Specificity , Primary Health Care , Neuropsychological Tests
2.
Alzheimers Dement ; 19(10): 4590-4598, 2023 10.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36933232

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: According to previous estimates, 40% of dementia cases globally may be attributed to 12 potentially modifiable risk factors. METHODS: We calculated national population attributable fractions (PAFs) for each risk factor and modeled the effects of proportional reductions in risk factor prevalence on dementia prevalence by calculating potential impact fractions (PIFs) for each factor. RESULTS: The overall adjusted PAF for all risk factors was 35.2%. Physical inactivity, hearing loss, hypertension, and obesity accounted for 64% of the total prevention potential. The overall adjusted PIF was 4.1% at 10% risk factor prevalence reduction and 8.1% at 20% risk factor reduction. DISCUSSION: Estimates of the potential for the prevention of dementia should be based on country-specific data on risk factor prevalence, as estimates based on global risk factor prevalence have limited relevance from a national perspective. Physical inactivity, hearing loss, hypertension, and obesity could be primary targets for prevention of dementia in Denmark. HIGHLIGHTS: Overall adjusted PAF for potentially modifiable dementia risk factors was 35%. Physical inactivity, hearing loss, hypertension, and obesity had the largest prevention potential. Estimates of prevention potential should be based on national risk factor prevalence.


Subject(s)
Dementia , Hearing Loss , Hypertension , Humans , Risk Factors , Obesity/epidemiology , Obesity/prevention & control , Hypertension/epidemiology , Hypertension/prevention & control , Dementia/epidemiology , Dementia/prevention & control , Hearing Loss/epidemiology , Hearing Loss/prevention & control , Denmark/epidemiology
3.
Eur J Neurol ; 30(3): 578-586, 2023 03.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36380695

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The aims of this study were to examine the psychometric properties of the Brief Assessment of Impaired Cognition (BASIC) case-finding instrument in clinical settings focusing on (i) test-retest reliability, (ii) the discriminative validity of BASIC and its components for identification of Alzheimer disease (AD) dementia and non-AD dementia, and (iii) the association of expert clinical rating of cognitive status with BASIC performance. METHODS: The test-retest reliability analysis was based on a sample of general practice patients (n = 59) retested with a mean interval of 19 days. Discriminative validity analyses and analysis of the association of cognitive status with BASIC performance were based on data from the primary validation study of BASIC in memory clinics. RESULTS: The test-retest reliability of BASIC was high (r = 0.861). No significant difference in discriminative validity was found for identification of AD dementia (sensitivity = 0.99, specificity = 0.98) and non-AD dementia (sensitivity = 0.90, specificity = 0.98). All components of BASIC contributed to the high discriminative validity of both AD and non-AD dementia. BASIC performance was significantly correlated with expert clinical rating of the cognitive status of patients. A crude staging model for cognitive status using BASIC score intervals had superior classification accuracy (70%) compared to a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score range-based model (58% accuracy). CONCLUSIONS: BASIC is a reliable and valid case-finding instrument for AD dementia and non-AD dementia in clinical settings. BASIC performance is significantly associated with the degree of cognitive impairment, and BASIC seems to be superior to MMSE for staging of impairment.


Subject(s)
Alzheimer Disease , Cognitive Dysfunction , Humans , Reproducibility of Results , Neuropsychological Tests , Alzheimer Disease/complications , Alzheimer Disease/diagnosis , Cognition
4.
Ecotoxicology ; 31(7): 1068-1077, 2022 Sep.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36006498

ABSTRACT

Old lead-zinc (Pb-Zn) mining sites in Greenland have increased the environmental concentration of Pb in local marine organisms, including the shorthorn sculpin. Organ metal concentrations and histopathology have been used in environmental monitoring programs to evaluate metal exposure and subsequent effects in shorthorn sculpins. So far, no study has reported the impact of heavy metals on gene expression involved in metal-related stress and immune responses in sculpins. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of exposure to environmentally relevant waterborne Pb (0.73 ± 0.35 µg/L) on hepatic gene expression of metallothionein (mt), immunoglobulin M (igm), and microRNAs (miRNAs; mir132 and mir155) associated with immune responses in the shorthorn sculpin compared to a control group. The mt and igm expression were upregulated in the Pb-exposed group compared to the control group. The transcripts of mir132 and mir155 were not different in sculpins between the Pb-exposed and control group; however, miRNA levels were significantly correlated with Pb liver concentrations. Furthermore, there was a positive correlation between liver Pb concentrations and igm, and a positive relationship between igm and mir155. The results indicate that exposure to Pb similar to those concentrations reported in in marine waters around Greenland Pb-Zn mine sites influences the mt and immune responses in shorthorn sculpins. This is the first study to identify candidate molecular markers in the shorthorn sculpins exposed to waterborne environmentally relevant Pb suggesting mt and igm as potential molecular markers of exposure to be applied in future assessments of the marine environment near Arctic mining sites.


Subject(s)
MicroRNAs , Perciformes , Animals , Environmental Monitoring , Immunoglobulin M , Lead/toxicity , MicroRNAs/genetics , Mining
5.
Front Public Health ; 10: 908827, 2022.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35784243

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to verify the Chinese version of the Brief Assessment of Impaired Cognition Questionnaire (C-BASIC-Q), and provide a new tool for the future large-scale epidemiological investigation of cognitive function in China. From March to May 2021, a cross-sectional study of 2,144 Chinese community-dwelling older adults (men = 1,075, mean age = 72.01 years, SD = 6.96 years, ranging from 60-99 years) was conducted in Jinan. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed to evaluate the factor structure of the C-BASIC-Q. Convergent validity was evaluated by correlations with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were evaluated using Cronbach's alpha and retest correlations in a sub-sample (n = 129). Linear regression was used to analyze the impact of demographic factors on the MMSE and C-BASIC-Q scores. Measurement invariance was evaluated using a multi-group confirmatory factor analysis. The mean C-BASIC-Q score was 15.94 (SD = 3.43). Factor analysis suggested a three-factor structure of C-BASIC-Q (self-report, orientation, and informant report). The C-BASIC-Q score was significantly positively associated with the MMSE score, showing good convergent validity. Cronbach's alpha of the C-BASIC-Q was 0.862, and the test-retest correlation coefficient was significant (r = 0.952, p < 0.001), indicating good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Measurement invariance analysis showed that C-BASIC-Q had configural, metric, and scalar invariance across sex, age, residence, education level and marital status. C-BASIC-Q was less affected by age, residence, education, and marital status than the MMSE. In summary, the C-BASIC-Q had good reliability, validity, and measurement invariance, and is a valid tool for evaluating cognitive functioning in Chinese community-dwelling older adults.


Subject(s)
Cognition , Independent Living , Aged , China , Cross-Sectional Studies , Humans , Male , Psychometrics , Reproducibility of Results , Surveys and Questionnaires
6.
Appl Neuropsychol Adult ; 29(1): 127-132, 2022.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32058804

ABSTRACT

Social cognitive functions such as Theory of Mind, empathy and emotion recognition can be impaired in dementia spectrum disorders, especially in diseases with prominent frontal dysfunction. The Emotion Hexagon test (EHT) is a short test of basic emotion recognition. As with other social cognitive tests, normative data for this test is sparse. The aim of this study was to present regression-based normative data for the EHT. Further, we wished to investigate the frequency of impairment in patients with the behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD, N = 11), Alzheimer's disease (AD, N = 44) and Huntington's disease (HD, N = 52) when using regression-based normative data. The results documented that age (but not gender or education) had a significant effect on EHT score. The effect of age had numerical impact on expected scores in persons older than 60 years. Normative data (including percentile estimates) are presented. The EHT is sensitive to impairment in both bvFTD and HD, where more than 80% of patients had lower scores than expected. In both groups, 54% of patients fell below the 5th percentile-estimate, and in HD 65% fell below the 10th percentile-estimate. In the AD group 25% fell below the 10th percentile-estimate, and 14% fell below the 5th percentile-estimate. In conclusion, very low scores are typically associated with HD and bvFTD, but very poor performances can also be found in other diseases such like AD. Hopefully, the normative data presented and the documentation of their validity in clinical practice is a useful tool for clinicians.


Subject(s)
Alzheimer Disease , Frontotemporal Dementia , Huntington Disease , Alzheimer Disease/complications , Alzheimer Disease/diagnosis , Emotions , Frontotemporal Dementia/complications , Humans , Huntington Disease/complications , Middle Aged , Neuropsychological Tests
7.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int ; 28(43): 61423-61440, 2021 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34176046

ABSTRACT

Shorthorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus scorpius) has been used as a sentinel species for environmental monitoring, including heavy metal contamination from mining activities. Former lead-zinc (Pb-Zn) mines in Greenland resulted in elevated concentrations of metals, especially Pb, in marine biota. However, the potential accumulation of Pb and effects of the presence of Pb residues in fish on health of sculpins observed in the field have not been validated in laboratory experiments. Therefore, our aim was to validate field observation of shorthorn sculpin via controlled laboratory exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of dissolved Pb. We evaluated the effects of a short-term (28 days) exposure to Pb on Pb residues in sculpin blood, gills, liver, and muscle and the morphology of gills and liver. The highest level of Pb was found in the gills, followed by muscle and then liver. Pb levels in liver, gills, and blood of Pb-exposed sculpins were significantly higher than those in control fish, showing that blood is suitable for assessing Pb accumulation and exposure in sculpins. Histopathological investigations showed that the severity score of liver necrosis and gill telangiectasia of Pb-exposed sculpins was significantly greater than in control fish. The number of mucous cells in gills was positively correlated with Pb concentrations in organs. Overall, the results validated field observation for the effects of Pb on wild sculpin and contributed to the improved use of the shorthorn sculpin as sentinel species for monitoring contamination from Pb mines in the Arctic.


Subject(s)
Perciformes , Water Pollutants, Chemical , Animals , Environmental Monitoring , Fishes , Gills/chemistry , Laboratories , Lead , Mining , Water Pollutants, Chemical/analysis
8.
Int J Geriatr Psychiatry ; 35(8): 907-915, 2020 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32291812

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to validate the Brief Assessment of Impaired Cognition (BASIC) and the Brief Assessment of Impaired Cognition Questionnaire (BASIC-Q) for identification of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in a memory clinic setting. METHODS: A total of 163 sociodemographically matched patients (MCI, n = 42, and dementia, n = 121) and 83 control participants were included in the study. Two instruments were validated: (a) BASIC, including the components self-report, informant report, and two brief cognitive tests, and (b) BASIC-Q, including the components self-report, informant report, and orientation. BASIC can be administered in 5 minutes and BASIC-Q in less than 5 minutes. RESULTS: A high discriminative validity for MCI vs control participants was found for both BASIC (sensitivity 0.86, specificity 0.89) and BASIC-Q (sensitivity 0.88, specificity 0.88). In comparison, the MMSE had low sensitivity (0.61) and moderate specificity (0.72). All components of BASIC and BASIC-Q contributed significantly to differentiate MCI from control participants. The components of BASIC and BASIC-Q also contributed significantly to differentiate MCI from dementia, except for self-report, which was identical in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Both BASIC and BASIC-Q are brief, valid, and effective instruments for identification of patients with possible MCI in a memory clinic setting. Further cross-validation of the instruments in a general practice or primary care setting is needed.


Subject(s)
Cognitive Dysfunction , Dementia , Cognition , Cognitive Dysfunction/diagnosis , Dementia/diagnosis , Humans , Neuropsychological Tests , Surveys and Questionnaires
9.
Int Psychogeriatr ; 32(9): 1031-1044, 2020 09.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32146910

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To quantitatively synthesize data on the accuracy of the Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale (RUDAS) in different sociocultural settings and compare its performance to other brief screening instruments for the detection of dementia. DESIGN: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Literature searches were performed in PubMed, EMBASE, and CINAHL from January 1, 2004 until September 1, 2019. SETTING: Community, outpatient clinic, and hospital settings in high-, and low- and middle-income countries. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-six studies reporting diagnostic accuracy of the RUDAS were included with almost 4000 participants, including approximately 1700 patients with dementia. MEASUREMENTS: Procedures for translation and cultural adaption of the RUDAS, and influence of demographic variables on diagnostic accuracy, were compared across studies. Bivariate random-effects models were used to pool sensitivity and specificity results, and diagnostic odds-ratios and the area under the hierarchical summary receiver operator characteristic curve were used to present the overall performance. RESULTS: The pooled sensitivity and specificity for the detection of dementia were .82 (95% CI, .78-.86) and .83 (95% CI, .78-.87), respectively, with an area under the curve of .89. Subgroup analyses revealed that the RUDAS had comparable diagnostic performances across high-, and low- and middle-income settings (z = .63, P = .53) and in samples with a lower and higher proportion of participants with no formal education (z = -.15, P = .88). In 11 studies making direct comparison, the diagnostic performance of the RUDAS was comparable to that of the Mini-Mental State Examination (z = -.82, P = .41), with areas under the curve of .88 and .84, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The RUDAS has good diagnostic performance for detecting dementia in different sociocultural settings. Compared to other brief screening instruments, advantages of the RUDAS include its limited bias in people with limited or no formal education and a minimal need for cultural or language adaptation.


Subject(s)
Cross-Cultural Comparison , Dementia/diagnosis , Geriatric Assessment/methods , Neuropsychological Tests/statistics & numerical data , Aged , Cultural Diversity , Humans , Language , Male , Mass Screening , ROC Curve , Sensitivity and Specificity , Severity of Illness Index , Translations
10.
Int J Geriatr Psychiatry ; 35(7): 693-701, 2020 07.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32100328

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Brief Assessment of Impaired Cognition (BASIC), which combines self- and informant report with cognitive testing, was previously found to be highly accurate in identification of dementia and cognitive impairment. The aim of the present study was to develop and validate a questionnaire version of BASIC, the BASIC-Q, for use in community settings. METHODS: In order to construct a questionnaire version of BASIC, we substituted cognitive testing with questions regarding orientation. BASIC-Q was validated based on further analysis of data from the primary BASIC validation study, where patients consecutively referred from general practice were tested at their first memory clinic admission prior to diagnosis. Control participants were primarily recruited among participating patients' relatives. Expert clinical diagnosis was subsequently used as reference standard for estimation of classification accuracy. RESULTS: A high discriminative validity (sensitivity 0.92, specificity 0.97) for cognitive impairment (n = 159) vs socio-demographically matched control participants (n = 109) was found. In comparison, the MMSE had 0.76 sensitivity and 0.81 specificity. Administration time for BASIC-Q was less than 5 minutes compared to approximately 10 minutes for the MMSE. CONCLUSIONS: BASIC-Q is a brief, efficient and valid tool for identification of cognitive impairment in a clinical setting. Further validation in a community setting is needed.


Subject(s)
Cognitive Dysfunction , Dementia , Cognition , Cognitive Dysfunction/diagnosis , Dementia/diagnosis , Humans , Neuropsychological Tests , Sensitivity and Specificity , Surveys and Questionnaires
11.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30896283

ABSTRACT

Verbal fluency tests are quickly administered, easy to use, and regularly used in the neuropsychological assessment. The aim of this study was to present regression-based reference data for eight different verbal fluency tests in a Danish sample (aged 60-96 years) to determine the influence of age, gender, and education on test-performances. The results showed that age and education were significantly associated with both categories, lexical and alternating fluency tests, and gender had a significant impact on two tests. All tests were significantly correlated, but there was a much stronger association between tests of the same type (lexical versus category) than between different types of tests indicating that various fluency tasks draw on different cognitive abilities. Specific patterns of impairment can be analyzed using these normative data and may be important in the assessment of dementia spectrum disorders.


Subject(s)
Attention/physiology , Executive Function/physiology , Mental Recall/physiology , Neuropsychological Tests/statistics & numerical data , Adult , Age Factors , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Denmark , Educational Status , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Neuropsychological Tests/standards , Reference Values , Sex Factors
12.
J Huntingtons Dis ; 9(1): 59-68, 2020.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31658065

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Due to high prevalence of cognitive impairment in Huntington's disease (HD) gene mutation carriers, even before onset of motor symptoms, cognitive screening is important for the optimal management of patients. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) are widely used, but the validity for HD has only been evaluated in few studies with important limitations. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the discriminative validity of the MMSE and the MoCA for the assessment of cognitive dysfunction in HD gene mutation carriers, independently of motor manifestation and furthermore, to report estimated probabilities for cognitive impairment with different score ranges on the MMSE and the MoCA. METHODS: 106 pre-motor-manifest and motor-manifest HD gene mutation carriers and 40 non-HD gene mutation carriers were administered the MMSE, the MoCA, and an extensive neuropsychological battery with operationalized criteria for cognitive impairment. The same physician and the same neuropsychologist performed all examinations; blinded to one another. RESULTS: The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.70 for the MMSE and 0.82 for the MoCA. The latter correctly diagnosed 82% of the cognitively impaired and not-impaired HD gene mutation carriers and non-HD gene mutation carriers, whereas the MMSE only diagnosed 73% correctly. CONCLUSIONS: The MMSE and the MoCA can both be used as cognitive screening tests in HD gene mutation carriers, but both have important limitations. Our results indicate that the MoCA is a better cognitive screening test for HD than the MMSE. In addition, our study provides estimated probabilities for cognitive impairment with different score ranges, which may be used as clinical guidelines in the interpretation of results from the two tests.


Subject(s)
Cognitive Dysfunction/diagnosis , Huntington Disease/diagnosis , Huntington Disease/genetics , Huntington Disease/physiopathology , Mental Status and Dementia Tests/standards , Neuropsychological Tests/standards , Aged , Cognitive Dysfunction/etiology , Female , Heterozygote , Humans , Huntington Disease/complications , Male , Middle Aged , Motor Activity/physiology , Mutation , Reproducibility of Results
13.
Alzheimers Dement ; 15(11): 1383-1391, 2019 11.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31587994

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to investigate the registry-based national time trends in incidence and prevalence rates of dementia from 1996 to 2015. METHODS: We assessed annual incidence and prevalence using longitudinal data from nationwide registries on dementia status and demographics on all residents ≥ 65 years old in Denmark. RESULTS: Our population comprised 2 million people, of whom 152,761 were diagnosed with dementia. The age- and sex-adjusted incidence rate increased, on average, by 9% annually from 1996 to 2003, followed by a 2% annual decline, while total prevalence increased during the whole period. DISCUSSION: This is the first study to report continuous time trends of incidence and prevalence in an entire national population. The incidence rate has declined steadily since 2003, while the total prevalence is still increasing. Future health care planning on prevention and treatment of dementia should take these findings into account.


Subject(s)
Dementia/epidemiology , Registries/statistics & numerical data , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Denmark/epidemiology , Female , Forecasting , Humans , Incidence , Longitudinal Studies , Male , Middle Aged , Prevalence , Risk Factors , Time Factors
14.
Int J Geriatr Psychiatry ; 34(11): 1724-1733, 2019 11.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31389089

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to develop and validate a new brief and accurate case-finding instrument for dementia and cognitive impairment. Previous research indicates that combining cognitive tests with informant and/or patient report may improve accuracy in dementia case-finding. The Brief Assessment of Impaired Cognition (BASIC) integrates these three sources of information. METHODS: BASIC was prospectively validated in five memory clinics. Patients consecutively referred from general practice were tested at their initial visit prior to diagnosis. Control participants were primarily recruited among participating patients' relatives. Expert clinical diagnosis was subsequently used as gold standard for estimation of the classification accuracy of BASIC. RESULTS: A very high discriminative validity (specificity 0.98, sensitivity 0.95) for dementia (n = 122) versus socio-demographically matched control participants (n = 109) was found. In comparison, the MMSE had 0.90 specificity and 0.82 sensitivity. Extending the discriminative validity analysis to cognitive impairment (both dementia and MCI, n = 162) only slightly reduced the discriminative validity of BASIC whereas the discriminative validity of the MMSE was substantially attenuated. Administration time for BASIC was approximately 5 minutes compared with 10 to 15 minutes for the MMSE. CONCLUSIONS: BASIC was found to be an efficient and valid case-finding instrument for dementia and cognitive impairment in a memory clinic setting.


Subject(s)
Cognitive Dysfunction/psychology , Dementia/diagnosis , Neuropsychological Tests , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Humans , Male , Mass Screening/methods , Middle Aged , Reproducibility of Results , Sensitivity and Specificity
15.
Scand J Psychol ; 59(5): 496-502, 2018 Oct.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-29999180

ABSTRACT

Memory assessment is a key element in neuropsychological testing. Gold standard evaluation is based on updated normative data, but in many small countries (e.g. in Scandinavia) such data are sparse. In Denmark, reference data exist for non-verbal memory tests and list-learning tests but there is no normative data for memory tests which capture narrative recall and cued recall. In a nation-wide study, Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT), WMS-III Logical Memory (LM) and a newly developed test Category Cued Memory Test (CCMT-48) were applied in 131 cognitively intact persons (aged 60-96 years). Regression-based reference data for Danish versions of FCSRT, CCMT-48 and LM adjusted for age, education and gender are provided. Gender and age-group had a significant impact on the expected scores, whereas the effect of education had a limited effect on expected scores. Test performances were significantly correlated in the range 0.21-0.51. Based on these findings and previous results it may be relevant to assess both free recall, cued recall and recognition to tap the earliest changes associated with neurodegeneration, and this study therefore provides an important supplement to existing Danish normative data. Future studies should investigate the discriminative validity of the tests and the clinical utility of the presented reference data.


Subject(s)
Aging/physiology , Mental Recall/physiology , Neuropsychological Tests/statistics & numerical data , Psychometrics/statistics & numerical data , Recognition, Psychology/physiology , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Denmark , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Reference Values
16.
Clin Neuropsychol ; 31(sup1): 72-87, 2017.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-28854839

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present study was to develop a Danish adaptation of the Boston Naming Test (BNT) including a shortened 30-item version of the BNT for routine clinical use and two parallel 15-item versions for screening purposes. METHOD: The Danish adaptation of the BNT was based on ranking of items according to difficulty in a sample of older non-patients (n = 99). By selecting those items with the largest discrepancy in difficulty for non-patients compared to a mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) sample (n = 53), the shortened versions of the BNT were developed. Using an overlapping cells approach preliminary education and age norms for older Danes were constructed. RESULTS: The Danish adaptation of the BNT had adequate reliability and the short versions were all highly correlated with the full 60-item BNT (BNT-60). The sensitivity and specificity of the BNT-60 was .83 and .86, respectively. The shortened versions displayed some reduction in sensitivity (.70-.77) but similar or better specificity (.86-.91). Post-test probabilities of mild AD associated with performances along selected score ranges of the BNT were estimated. Likelihood ratios were presented that can be combined with information regarding the base rate of AD in any setting in order to assist in interpreting the clinical significance of a given performance. CONCLUSION: The short Danish versions of the BNT were highly correlated with the full BNT indicating that they measure the same construct. The Danish versions had acceptable diagnostic accuracy discriminating between mild AD and older non-patients.


Subject(s)
Alzheimer Disease , Language Tests , Aged , Alzheimer Disease/diagnosis , Female , Humans , Male , Mass Screening , Middle Aged , Neuropsychological Tests , Reference Values , Reproducibility of Results , Sensitivity and Specificity
17.
Ugeskr Laeger ; 178(7): V11150887, 2016 Feb 15.
Article in Danish | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-27063006

ABSTRACT

Epidemiological research regarding risk factors for cognitive decline and dementia has been reviewed in a handful of evidence reports, systematic reviews and meta-analyses published between 2010 and 2015. The purpose of this review is to summarize the main results from cohort and case-control studies regarding potentially modifiable risk factors associated with physical and mental health, lifestyle and socioeconomic factors.


Subject(s)
Cognition Disorders/prevention & control , Dementia/prevention & control , Alzheimer Disease/prevention & control , Diet , Drug Therapy , Humans , Life Style , Risk Factors , Socioeconomic Factors
18.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-24974730

ABSTRACT

This study presents a reliable, short and practical version of the Clock Drawing Test (CDT) for clinical use and examines its diagnostic accuracy in mild Alzheimer's disease versus elderly nonpatients. Clock drawings from 231 participants were scored independently by four clinical neuropsychologists blind to diagnostic classification. The interrater agreement of individual scoring criteria was analyzed and items with poor or moderate reliability were excluded. The classification accuracy of the resulting scoring system - the six-item CDT - was examined. We explored the effect of further reducing the number of scoring items on classification accuracy and estimated classification accuracy associated with performances deviating from the optimal cutoff score. At a cutoff of 5/6, the six-item CDT had a sensitivity (SN) of 0.65 and a specificity of 0.80. Stepwise removal of up to three items reduced SN slightly. Classification accuracy associated with a score of four or less out of six was very high.


Subject(s)
Alzheimer Disease/diagnosis , Neuropsychological Tests/standards , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales/standards , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Alzheimer Disease/classification , Female , Geriatric Assessment , Humans , Male , ROC Curve , Reproducibility of Results , Severity of Illness Index
19.
Ugeskr Laeger ; 176(48)2014 Nov 24.
Article in Danish | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-25430573

ABSTRACT

The exact prevalence of dementia in Denmark is unknown. Based on epidemiological data we have calculated possible estimates for the present Danish prevalence of dementia and prevalence projections through to 2030. The discrepancy between estimates based on epidemiological studies and the number of dementia diagnoses in registers indicates that dementia may be underdiagnosed. Even though results from recent epidemiological studies point to a possible decline in incidence we expect the future prevalence of dementia to increase due to an expected increase of the elderly population.


Subject(s)
Dementia/epidemiology , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Dementia/diagnosis , Denmark/epidemiology , Humans , Middle Aged , Population Dynamics , Prevalence
20.
Ugeskr Laeger ; 176(26): V04120217, 2014 Jun 23.
Article in Danish | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-25294572

ABSTRACT

In developed countries the population of elderly people with Down syndrome expands resulting in an increasing incidence of age-related diseases, including dementia. The assessment of dementia in individuals with intellectual disability is often complicated due to large intra-individual variability in cognitive functioning prior to dementia and to lack of standardised measures to detect dementia. Structured observations of symptoms of dementia and assessment techniques tailored for people with intellectual disability are increasingly needed.


Subject(s)
Dementia/diagnosis , Down Syndrome/physiopathology , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Alzheimer Disease/diagnosis , Alzheimer Disease/drug therapy , Alzheimer Disease/epidemiology , Alzheimer Disease/physiopathology , Dementia/drug therapy , Dementia/epidemiology , Dementia/physiopathology , Down Syndrome/epidemiology , Down Syndrome/psychology , Humans
SELECTION OF CITATIONS
SEARCH DETAIL
...