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A novel approach to assessing memory at the population level: vulnerability to semantic interference

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 January 2010

Beth E. Snitz ,
David A. Loewenstein ,
Chung-Chou H. Chang ,
Ching-Wen Lee ,
Joni Vander Bilt ,
Judith Saxton  and
Mary Ganguli
Beth E. Snitz*
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, U.S.A.
David A. Loewenstein
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Neurology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, U.S.A. Wien Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach, FL, U.S.A.
Chung-Chou H. Chang
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA, U.S.A.
Ching-Wen Lee
Affiliation:
Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA, U.S.A.
Joni Vander Bilt
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, U.S.A.
Judith Saxton
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, U.S.A.
Mary Ganguli
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, U.S.A. Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, U.S.A. Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA, U.S.A.
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Beth E. Snitz, PhD, Department of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh, 3471 Fifth Avenue, Suite 802, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. U.S.A. Phone: +1 412-692-4820; Fax: +1 412-692-4031. Email: snitzbe@upmc.edu.
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Abstract

Background: There is increasing interest in identifying novel cognitive paradigms to help detect preclinical dementia. Promising results have been found in clinical settings using the Semantic Interference Test (SIT), a modification of an existing episodic memory test (Fuld Object Memory Evaluation) that exploits vulnerability to semantic interference in Alzheimer's disease. It is not yet known how broadly this work will generalize to the community at large.

Methods: Participants aged ≥65 years from the Monongahela-Youghiogheny Healthy Aging Team (MYHAT) were administered the SIT at study entry. Independent of neuropsychological assessment, participants were rated on the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale, based on reported loss of cognitively driven everyday functioning. In individuals free of dementia (CDR <1), the concurrent validity of the SIT was assessed by determining its association with CDR using multiple logistic regression models, with CDR 0 (no dementia) vs. 0.5 (possible dementia) as the outcome and the SIT test variables as predictors.

Results: Poorer performance on all SIT variables but one was associated with higher CDR reflecting possible dementia (Odds Ratios 2.24–4.79). Younger age and female gender also conferred a performance advantage. Years of education and reading ability (a proxy for quality of education) evidenced a very weak association with SIT performance.

Conclusions: The SIT shows promise as a valid, novel measure to identify early preclinical dementia in a community setting. It has potential utility for assessment of persons who may be illiterate or of low education. Finally, we provide normative SIT data stratified by age which may be utilized by clinicians or researchers in future investigations.

Keywords

neuropsychological testsnormscognitive agingSemantic Interference TestAlzheimer's disease
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 22 , Issue 5 , August 2010 , pp. 785 - 794
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2010

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