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Sahlgrenska Academy Self-reported Cognitive Impairment Questionnaire (SASCI-Q) – a research tool discriminating between subjectively cognitively impaired patients and healthy controls

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 December 2012

Marie Eckerström ,
Johanna Skoogh ,
Sindre Rolstad ,
Mattias Göthlin ,
Gunnar Steineck ,
Boo Johansson  and
Anders Wallin
Marie Eckerström*
Affiliation:
Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
Johanna Skoogh
Affiliation:
Department of Oncology, Division of Clinical Cancer Epidemiology, Institute of Clinical Sciences, the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
Sindre Rolstad
Affiliation:
Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
Mattias Göthlin
Affiliation:
Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
Gunnar Steineck
Affiliation:
Department of Oncology, Division of Clinical Cancer Epidemiology, Institute of Clinical Sciences, the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
Boo Johansson
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
Anders Wallin
Affiliation:
Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Marie Eckerström, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Wallinsgatan 6, SE 431 39 Mölndal, Sweden. Phone: +46 31 343 86 74; +46 709 129 599. Fax: +46 31 27 62 21. Email: marie.eckerstrom@neuro.gu.se.
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Abstract

Background: Subjective cognitive impairment (SCI) is a potential early marker for actual cognitive decline. The cognitive manifestation of the SCI stage is, however, largely unknown. Self-report instruments developed especially for use in the SCI population are lacking, and many SCI studies have not excluded mild cognitive impairment and dementia. We developed and tested a patient-based questionnaire on everyday cognitive function aiming to discriminate between patients with subjective, but not objective, cognitive impairment and healthy controls.

Methods: Individuals experiencing cognitive impairment were interviewed to generate a pool of items. After condensing to 97 items, we tested the questionnaire in 93 SCI patients seeking care at a memory clinic (age M = 64.5 years, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) M = 29.0) and 50 healthy controls (age M = 69.6 years, MMSE M = 29.3). Further item reduction was conducted to maximize that remaining items would discriminate between SCI patients and controls, using a conservative α level and requiring medium to high effect sizes. Internal consistency reliability and convergent validity was subsequently examined.

Results: Forty-five items discriminated between the groups, resulting in the Sahlgrenska Academy Self-reported Cognitive Impairment Questionnaire (SASCI-Q). Internal consistency was high and correlations to a single question on memory functioning were of medium to large sizes. Most remaining items were related to the memory domain.

Conclusion: The SASCI-Q discriminates between SCI patients and healthy controls and demonstrates satisfying psychometric properties. The instrument provides a research method for examining SCI and forms a foundation for future examining which SCI symptoms predict objective cognitive decline. The cognitive manifestation of the SCI stage is mostly related to experiences of memory deficits.

Keywords

cognitive assessmentdementiamild cognitive impairment (MCI)memory clinics
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 25 , Issue 3 , March 2013 , pp. 420 - 430
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2012

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