Optimizing the Use of Normative Data in Dementia Diagnostic Evaluations

 
   Lead Investigator:    Laurie Holler
   Institution      :    Walden University
   E-Mail           :    laurie.holler@waldenu.edu
   Proposal ID      :    1384



   Proposal Description:
   There is some evidence suggesting that demographic correction (specifically age correction) may reduce the sensitivity of cognitive tests to age related cognitive decline (Hessler, Tucha, Farstl, Mosch  Bickel, 2014). It is hypothesized that age correction will reduce the utility of cognitive tests for detecting cognitive change in individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and mild dementia due to Alzheimer?s Disease (AD). This hypothesis is investigated using a series of hierarchical multiple linear regressions predicting the Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes Score (CDR-SB) from composite scores derived using different types of demographic correction (i.e., no correction, age correction, education correction, or both age and education correction). Since early diagnosis is key to developing and utilizing interventions to change the trajectory of Alzheimer?s Disease (AD), the optimal demographic corrections determined by these analyses may contribute to our knowledge on how to best use these tests in diagnostic scenarios with patients suspected of having dementia.