Thabtah Fadi, Spencer Robinson, Ye Yongsheng
Digital Technologies, Manukau Institute of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand.
Health Inf Sci Syst. 2020 Jul 23;8(1):24. doi: 10.1007/s13755-020-00114-8. eCollection 2020 Dec.
The process of diagnosing dementia conditions, especially Alzheimer's disease, and the cognitive tests that are involved in this process, are important areas of study. Everyday Cognition (ECog) is one test that can be used as part of Alzheimer's disease diagnosis to measure cognitive decline in different areas. In this study, we investigate two versions of the ECog test: the study partner reported version (ECogSP), and the patient reported version (ECogPT). We compare these, using statistical analysis and machine learning techniques, to create classification models to demonstrate the progression in ECog scores over time by using the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative longitudinal data repository (ADNI); participants are classed with having normal cognition, mild cognitive impairment, or Alzheimer's disease. We found that participants who are diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease at baseline, or during a subsequent visit, tend to self-report consistent ECogPT scores over time indicating no change in cognitive ability. However, study partners tend to report higher and increasing ECogSP scores on behalf of participants in the same diagnosis category; this would indicate a degradation in the participant's cognitive ability over time, consistent with the progress of Alzheimer's disease.
痴呆症（尤其是阿尔茨海默病）的诊断过程以及该过程中涉及的认知测试，是重要的研究领域。日常认知（ECog）测试是可用于阿尔茨海默病诊断、以测量不同领域认知衰退情况的一项测试。在本研究中，我们调查了ECog测试的两个版本：研究伙伴报告版（ECogSP）和患者报告版（ECogPT）。我们利用统计分析和机器学习技术对这两个版本进行比较，以创建分类模型，通过使用阿尔茨海默病神经影像倡议纵向数据存储库（ADNI）来展示ECog分数随时间的变化情况；参与者被分类为认知正常、轻度认知障碍或患有阿尔茨海默病。我们发现，在基线时或后续就诊时被诊断为患有阿尔茨海默病的参与者，其ECogPT分数往往会随着时间的推移自我报告保持一致，表明认知能力没有变化。然而，研究伙伴往往会代表处于相同诊断类别的参与者报告更高且不断增加的ECogSP分数；这表明参与者的认知能力会随着时间的推移而下降，与阿尔茨海默病的进展情况一致。
