Department of Medical Sociology, University of Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Neuroepidemiology. 2011;37(1):13-20. doi: 10.1159/000328262. Epub 2011 Jul 13.
Providing a valid and sensitive measure of different domains of cognitive performance in epidemiologic studies of early old-age populations presents a methodological challenge, given the broad range of variability in cognitive functioning in this age group.
(1) To provide data on the distribution of cognitive performance scores in a representative sample of an early old-age population, and (2) to assess psychometric properties of a short cognitive performance measure developed within the framework of a cohort study.
Population-based cohort study.
As part of the second examination of the Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study, 4,145 participants aged 50-80 years underwent a short cognitive performance assessment composed of 5 subtests with a mean duration of 7.31 min. Additionally, a subsample of 656 participants had a detailed neuropsychological and neurological examination.
Age- and education-specific cognitive performance scores in the total sample were calculated. Based on data from the subsample, concurrent validity was examined by comparing findings with a clinically validated neuropsychological assessment.
In the total sample, younger and more highly educated participants had higher scores of cognitive performance. In the subsample, a good accuracy [area under the curve (AUC) = 0.81 (0.74-0.87)] of the short cognitive performance assessment compared with results from a clinically established Alzheimer disease assessment scale and diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment [AUC = 0.82 (0.78-0.82)] was observed.
This brief, cognitive performance measure, documenting good psychometric properties, can be useful in future epidemiological investigations exploring different domains and overall cognitive functioning in early old-age populations.
在对早期老年人群进行的流行病学研究中，提供一种有效且敏感的认知表现不同领域的衡量方法具有一定的挑战性，因为该年龄段认知功能的变化范围很广。
（1）提供在具有代表性的早期老年人群样本中认知表现评分的分布数据，（2）评估在一项队列研究框架内开发的简短认知表现测量的心理测量学特性。
基于人群的队列研究。
作为海因茨·尼克斯多夫回忆研究第二次检查的一部分，4145 名年龄在 50-80 岁的参与者接受了一项简短的认知表现评估，该评估由 5 个子测试组成，平均持续时间为 7.31 分钟。此外，656 名参与者的亚组接受了详细的神经心理学和神经学检查。
在总样本中计算出年龄和教育特定的认知表现评分。基于亚组数据，通过将发现与临床验证的神经心理学评估进行比较，来检验同时效度。
在总样本中，年龄较小且受教育程度较高的参与者具有较高的认知表现评分。在亚组中，与临床建立的阿尔茨海默病评估量表和轻度认知障碍的诊断相比，简短认知表现评估具有较好的准确性[曲线下面积（AUC）= 0.81（0.74-0.87）]。
这种简短的认知表现测量方法具有良好的心理测量学特性，可在未来的流行病学研究中用于探索早期老年人群不同领域和整体认知功能。
