Propriedades psicométricas de um protocolo neuropsicológico breve para uso em populações geriátricas

Abstract

Background: The increase in life expectancy and proportion of elderly in the population is causing an increase in dementia prevalence rates. The correct, early diagnosis of dementia is very important to clinical treatment and to improved prognosis. Therefore, it is necessary to adapt and develop assessment tools for the differential diagnosis between pathological and normal aging processes. Objective: Assess the psychometric properties and the factorial structure of a neuropsychological protocol used in geriatric assessment. Method: Subjects (n = 69) with heterogeneous cognitive complaints were assessed at the Centro de Geriatria e Gerontologia at the Hospital das Clínicas da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais using a protocol composed of the Mini-Mental State Examination, Clock Drawing, Corsi Blocks, Verbal Fluency, Digit Span and Token Test. Statistical analyses included factorial analyses of test results, Pearson's correlation between obtained factor, age, years of formal education and clinical dementia rating and area under the ROC curve. Results: The factorial analyses of test scores showed a general representative factor that had moderate and significant association with CDR (r = -0.672; p < 0.001) and years of formal education (r = 0.455; p < 0.001), respectively. This factor had weaker and less significant correlation with age (r = -0.282; p < 0.05). Discussion: These results point to the protocol's good construct and criteria validity in assessing cognitive decline in the elderly. Future works concerning applicability and populational norms are needed to improve the clinical use of this assessment protocol.

Psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of Pfeffer's Functional Activities Questionnaire

“…These measures were selected for representing different aspects of cognition (general and specific), involving language, memory, visuospatial skills, attention and executive functions, as recommended in previous studies (Salmon and Bondi, 2009; Weintraub et al, 2009). All aforementioned measures have been cross-culturally adapted and validated for use on the Brazilian population (de Paula et al, 2010, 2013a). …”

Methodological Criteria for Scoring Clustering and Switching in Verbal Fluency Tasks

“…Most Brazilian studies on VF include SVF tasks using the animal category (Araujo et al, 2011;Brucki, Malheiros, Okamoto, & Bertolucci, 1997;Brucki & Rocha, 2004;Caramelli, Carthery-Goulart, Porto, CharchatFichman, & Nitrini, 2007;Lopes et al, 2009;Silva, Yassuda, Guimarães, & Florindo, 2011). There is a small number of studies using fruits (Paula et al, 2010), body parts (Malloy-Diniz et al, 2007), and clothes (Fonseca, Parente, Côté, Ska, & Joanette, 2008;Moraes et al, 2014;Zimmermann, Parente, Joanette, & Fonseca, 2014). PVF tasks are also mentioned in national studies using the letters F, A, and S (Charchat-Fichman et al, 2011;Fonseca, Salles, & Parente, 2009;Machado et al, 2009), the letter P (Fonseca et al, 2008;Moraes et al, 2014;Zimmermann et al, 2014), and the letter M (Charchat-Fichman et al, 2011;Salles et al, in press).…”

Screening for Alzheimer's disease in low-educated or illiterate older adults in Brazil: a systematic review

“…Several studies have suggested that tests of executive functions may be more influenced by education 28,52,53,54 . Caramelli et al 5 demonstrated that the Verbal Fluency animal category, a traditional measure of executive function, had a high accuracy for AD, as long as education adjusted cut-off scores were used.…”

“…Some studies have shown that visuospatial tasks involving drawings are particularly difficult for older adults with little or no formal education 52,53,54 . Other studies have underlined the need for caution when interpreting Clock Drawing Test findings, as the level of education is a potential source of bias 46,56 .…”