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Verbal fluency as a screening tool for mild cognitive impairment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2019

Michelle McDonnell Open the ORCID record for Michelle McDonnell [Opens in a new window] ,
Lauren Dill ,
Stella Panos ,
Stacy Amano ,
Warren Brown ,
Shadee Giurgius ,
Gary Small  and
Karen Miller
Michelle McDonnell
Affiliation:
Loma Linda VA Healthcare System, Loma Linda, CA, USA
Lauren Dill
Affiliation:
VA Long Beach Healthcare System, Long Beach, CA, USA
Stella Panos
Affiliation:
UCLA Longevity Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Stacy Amano
Affiliation:
Fuller Graduate School of Psychology, Pasadena, CA, USA
Warren Brown
Affiliation:
Fuller Graduate School of Psychology, Pasadena, CA, USA
Shadee Giurgius
Affiliation:
Adult & Geriatric Psychiatry in La Mirada, La Mirada, CA, USA
Gary Small
Affiliation:
UCLA Longevity Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Karen Miller*
Affiliation:
UCLA Longevity Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA
*
*Correspondence should be addressed to: Karen Miller, UCLA Longevity Center, 10945 Le Conte Avenue, Suite 3119, Los Angeles, CA90095-6980, USA. Phone: 310-267-2663; Fax: 310-794-0681. Email: KMiller@mednet.ucla.edu.
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Abstract

Objectives:

The goal of this study was to evaluate the ability of semantic (animal naming) and phonemic (FAS) fluency in their ability to discriminate between normal aging, amnestic-Mild Cognitive Impairment (a-MCI), and Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Design:

We used binary logistic regressions, multinomial regressions, and discriminant analysis to evaluate the predictive value of semantic and phonemic fluency in regards to specific diagnostic classifications.

Setting:

Outpatient geriatric neuropsychology clinic.

Participants:

232 participants (normal aging = 99, a-MCI = 90, AD = 43; mean age = 65.75 years).

Measurements:

Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE), Controlled Oral Word Association Test

Results:

Results indicate that semantic and phonemic fluency were significant predictors of diagnostic classification, and semantic fluency explained a greater amount of the discriminant ability of the model.

Conclusions:

These results suggest that verbal fluency, particularly semantic fluency, may be an accurate and efficient tool in screening for early dementia in time-limited medical settings.

Keywords

dementiamild cognitive impairmentAlzheimer’s diseasescreening
Type
Original Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 32 , Issue 9: Issue Theme: Enhanced Assessment Instruments for Older Adults with Major Neurocognitive Disorders , September 2020 , pp. 1055 - 1062
Copyright
© International Psychogeriatric Association 2019

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