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The CERAD Neuropsychological Assessment Battery Is Sensitive to Alcohol-Related Cognitive Deficiencies in Elderly Patients: A Retrospective Matched Case-Control Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 November 2017

Liane Kaufmann ,
Stefan Huber ,
Daniel Mayer ,
Korbinian Moeller  and
Josef Marksteiner
Liane Kaufmann*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy A, General Hospital Hall, Hall in Tyrol, Austria
Stefan Huber
Affiliation:
Junior Research Group Neuro-cognitive Plasticity, Leibniz Institut für Wissensmedien, Tuebingen, Germany
Daniel Mayer
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy A, General Hospital Hall, Hall in Tyrol, Austria
Korbinian Moeller
Affiliation:
Junior Research Group Neuro-cognitive Plasticity, Leibniz Institut für Wissensmedien, Tuebingen, Germany Department of Psychology, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany LEAD Graduate School and Research Network, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
Josef Marksteiner
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy A, General Hospital Hall, Hall in Tyrol, Austria
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Liane Kaufmann, General Hospital Hall, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy A, A-6060 Hall in Tyrol, Austria. E-mail: liane.kaufmann@tirol-kliniken.at
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Abstract

Objectives: Adverse effects of heavy drinking on cognition have frequently been reported. In the present study, we systematically examined for the first time whether clinical neuropsychological assessments may be sensitive to alcohol abuse in elderly patients with suspected minor neurocognitive disorder. Methods: A total of 144 elderly with and without alcohol abuse (each group n=72; mean age 66.7 years) were selected from a patient pool of n=738 by applying propensity score matching (a statistical method allowing to match participants in experimental and control group by balancing various covariates to reduce selection bias). Accordingly, study groups were almost perfectly matched regarding age, education, gender, and Mini Mental State Examination score. Neuropsychological performance was measured using the CERAD (Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease). Classification analyses (i.e., decision tree and boosted trees models) were conducted to examine whether CERAD variables or total score contributed to group classification. Results: Decision tree models disclosed that groups could be reliably classified based on the CERAD variables “Word List Discriminability” (tapping verbal recognition memory, 64% classification accuracy) and “Trail Making Test A” (measuring visuo-motor speed, 59% classification accuracy). Boosted tree analyses further indicated the sensitivity of “Word List Recall” (measuring free verbal recall) for discriminating elderly with versus without a history of alcohol abuse. Conclusions: This indicates that specific CERAD variables seem to be sensitive to alcohol-related cognitive dysfunctions in elderly patients with suspected minor neurocognitive disorder. (JINS, 2018, 24, 360–371)

Keywords

ElderlyMinor neurocognitive disorderAlcohol abuseNeuropsychological performanceCERADVerbal recognition memoryVisuo-motor speed

Information

Type
Research Articles
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 24 , Issue 4 , April 2018 , pp. 360 - 371
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2017 

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