Falco Fabrizia, Lamagna Federica, Eliano Martina, di Monaco Cristina, Trojano Luigi, Lus Giacomo, Moccia Marcello, Lauro Francesca, Liccardo Tiziana, Chiodi Alessandro, Carotenuto Antonio, Morra Vincenzo Brescia, Lanzillo Roberta
Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive Sciences and Odontostomatology, Federico II University, Via Sergio Pansini 5, Naples, 80131, Italy.
Department of Psychology, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Caserta, Italy.
Neurol Sci. 2025 Apr;46(4):1777-1782. doi: 10.1007/s10072-024-07900-2. Epub 2024 Nov 28.
The Brief International Cognitive Assessment for Multiple Sclerosis (BICAMS) is the most widely used in clinical practice and the least time-consuming battery to estimate cognitive function in adults with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), while it has been included in few studies on young MS, also because of the absence of normative values.
The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of age, sex and education on BICAMS scores in a young adolescent population.
We administered the BICAMS to 169, 11-to-18-year-old, healthy subjects. Linear regression models were used to assess the impact of age, sex, and education on sub-test scores. When statistically significant (p < 0.05), we used the regression coefficient to correct the raw scores.
younger age was associated with worse performance on SDMT (β = 1.76; p < 0.05), CVLT-II (β = 3.33; p < 0.05) and BVMT-R (β = 0.62; p < 0.05). Female sex was associated SDMT (β = 2.75 (p < 0.05) and CVLT-II (β = 2.51 (p < 0.05). Educational attainment was associated with better performance on SDMT (β = 1.79 (p = < 0.05) and BVMT-R (β = 0.61; p < 0.05). Cut-off points were suggested at the 5th lowest percentile.
Age, sex, and education must be accounted for when applying the BICAMS to young population. Its use in everyday assessment of patients with Pediatric Onset Multiple Sclerosis (POMS) could help to compare and combine data across centers, identifying patients requiring a comprehensive evaluation and ad hoc cognitive stimulation programs.
简短国际多发性硬化症认知评估量表（BICAMS）是临床实践中使用最广泛且耗时最少的用于评估成年多发性硬化症（MS）患者认知功能的成套测验，然而，由于缺乏常模数据，针对青少年MS患者的相关研究较少。
本研究旨在评估年龄、性别和教育程度对青少年人群BICAMS评分的影响。
我们对169名11至18岁的健康受试者进行了BICAMS测验。采用线性回归模型评估年龄、性别和教育程度对各子测验分数的影响。当具有统计学意义（p < 0.05）时，我们使用回归系数对原始分数进行校正。
年龄较小与符号数字模式测验（SDMT）（β = 1.76；p < 0.05）、加利福尼亚语言学习测验第二版（CVLT-II）（β = 3.33；p < 0.05）和雷氏听觉词语学习测验修订版（BVMT-R）（β = 0.62；p < 0.05）的较差表现相关。女性与SDMT（β = 2.75，p < 0.05）和CVLT-II（β = 2.51，p < 0.05）相关。受教育程度与SDMT（β = 1.79，p < 0.05）和BVMT-R（β = 0.61；p < 0.05）的较好表现相关。建议以第5百分位数作为分界点。
在对青少年人群应用BICAMS时，必须考虑年龄、性别和教育程度。将其用于儿童期起病的多发性硬化症（POMS）患者的日常评估，有助于跨中心比较和整合数据，识别需要综合评估和特殊认知刺激计划的患者。
