a Department of Population Sciences , City of Hope , Duarte , CA , USA.
b Department of Supportive Care Medicine , City of Hope , Duarte , CA , USA.
Clin Neuropsychol. 2017 Nov;31(8):1375-1386. doi: 10.1080/13854046.2016.1275819. Epub 2017 Jan 12.
Computerized tests have increasingly garnered interest for assessing cognitive functioning due to their potential logistical and financial advantages over traditional 'pencil and-paper' neuropsychological tests. However, psychometric information is necessary to guide decisions about their clinical and research utility with varied populations. We explored the convergent construct validity and criterion validity of the CogState computerized tests in breast cancer survivors, a group known to present with mostly mild, subtle cognitive dysfunction.
Fifty-three post-menopausal women (26 breast cancer survivors, 27 healthy controls) completed the CogState Brief Battery tests with passed performance checks, conceptually matched traditional neuropsychological tests, and a self-report measure of daily functioning, the Functional Activities Questionnaire.
Significant positive correlations were found between the CogState Brief Battery tests and traditional neuropsychological tests, although the traditional tests specifically hypothesized to correlate with CogState tests did not reach statistical significance. Analysis of Covariance results showed preliminary support for criterion validity, as the patient and control groups differed on the traditional test of working memory (Digits Backwards, p = .01), with a trend towards significance for the CogState test of working memory (One Back, p = .02), controlled for age, race, and mood.
The results provide preliminary support for further research to determine if the CogState tests are viable as screening tools to detect subtle cognitive differences between breast cancer survivors and healthy women. Our study was limited by the low base rate of cognitive impairment and small sample size. We recommend further research employing sufficiently powered sample sizes and a longitudinal, repeated measures study design.
由于计算机化测试在后勤和财务方面相对于传统的“纸笔”神经心理测试具有潜在优势，因此它们越来越受到评估认知功能的关注。然而，为了指导在不同人群中使用这些测试的临床和研究效用，需要进行心理计量学信息的评估。我们探讨了 CogState 计算机化测试在乳腺癌幸存者中的收敛结构有效性和效标有效性，这些患者通常表现出轻度、微妙的认知功能障碍。
53 名绝经后妇女（26 名乳腺癌幸存者，27 名健康对照者）完成了 CogState 简短电池测试，通过了性能检查，与传统神经心理学测试具有概念匹配的测试，以及日常功能的自我报告量表，即功能活动问卷。
在 CogState 简短电池测试与传统神经心理学测试之间发现了显著的正相关，尽管与 CogState 测试具有相关性的传统测试并未达到统计学意义。协方差分析结果初步支持了效标有效性，因为患者组和对照组在传统的工作记忆测试（数字倒背，p = 0.01）上存在差异，而在 CogState 的工作记忆测试（One Back，p = 0.02）上存在趋势，这两个测试均受年龄、种族和情绪的控制。
这些结果为进一步研究提供了初步支持，以确定 CogState 测试是否可以作为筛查工具，用于检测乳腺癌幸存者和健康女性之间微妙的认知差异。我们的研究受到认知障碍的低基础率和样本量小的限制。我们建议进行进一步的研究，采用足够大的样本量和纵向、重复测量的研究设计。
