[Adaptation and validation of a naming test in Spanish speakers. Do demographic variables show the evolutive pattern towards Alzheimer's disease?].

INTRODUCTION

Naming is one of the most mentioned functions regarding aging and dementia. Nevertheless, inconsistent findings have been reported in relation to demographic variables in healthy people.

OBJECTIVE

The effect of demographic variables on naming performance was studied in a sample of Spanish speaking volunteers.

METHODS

The test was based initially on the nouns used by Oldfield and Wingfield in English. Data were obtained from 438 healthy subjects whose age range was from 9 to 90 years old. There were 274 females and 164 males, 31% of whom had first level of educational background, 34% had second level and 34%, third or university level. Trifactorial ANOVA was carried out on either correct responses or the average time required per word, with gender, age and education as independent variables.

RESULTS

Performance was related to age, gender and education. A significant triple interaction was observed for both correct responses and time. A figure throughout time showed that performance was mainly affected in women of greater age and, within this group, in women with lower educational level.

DISCUSSION

The evolution observed in this function emulates the progressive cognitive pattern, which is to be expected in people most prone to develop Alzheimer's disease. Considering the reported relationship among semantic memory, cognitive impairment and dementia, the results obtained with the present sample are also promising for the conceptual validity of the instrument. The test, with original drawings, is freely offered for research.