Young Stephanie Ruth, Shono Yusuke, Hauner Katherina K, Kim Jiwon, Dworak Elizabeth McManus, Byrne Greg Joseph, Jones Callie Madison, Benavente Julia Noelani Yoshino, Wolf Michael S, Nowinski Cindy J
Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
School of Community and Global Health, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California, USA.
Int J Methods Psychiatr Res. 2025 Jun;34(2):e70020. doi: 10.1002/mpr.70020.
Self-administered, user-friendly apps that can detect initial symptoms of cognitive impairment have enormous potential to improve early detection of cognitive decline. We examine the psychometric properties of the redesigned version of MyCog, MyCog 2.0, an app-based tool for older adults that assesses executive function and episodic memory. MyCog 2.0 aims to improve usability while maintaining the psychometric validity demonstrated in the original version.
Feedback from clinicians and patients on MyCog was gathered to inform the human-centered design improvements of MyCog 2.0. To assess the psychometric properties of the improved tool, data from a community sample (n = 200; mean age = 73 years) who had completed MyCog 2.0 were compared to an age-matched sample who had completed the original MyCog. Internal consistency and construct validity were evaluated via confirmatory factor analysis. Bayesian differential item functioning was employed to evaluate the evidence for equivalence of MyCog and MyCog 2.0.
Internal consistency was high for executive function and episodic memory tests (ω = 0.84). A two-factor model showed excellent fit, demonstrating that tests measured two related yet distinct constructs, episodic memory and executive functioning, as expected. Differential item functioning between the two test versions was not observed for episodic memory performance or executive functioning accuracy; however, response time on five executive function items was found to differ across versions.
Findings support MyCog 2.0 as the first reliable self-administered cognitive screener designed specifically for ease of use among older adults. Findings support the internal consistency and construct validity of MyCog 2.0 and provide a foundation for the forthcoming clinical validation studies.
能够检测认知障碍初始症状的自我管理、用户友好型应用程序在改善认知衰退早期检测方面具有巨大潜力。我们检验了重新设计的MyCog 2.0版本的心理测量特性，MyCog 2.0是一款针对老年人的基于应用程序的工具，用于评估执行功能和情景记忆。MyCog 2.0旨在提高可用性，同时保持原始版本所证明的心理测量效度。
收集临床医生和患者对MyCog的反馈，以为MyCog 2.0的以人为本的设计改进提供信息。为了评估改进工具的心理测量特性，将完成MyCog 2.0的社区样本（n = 200；平均年龄 = 73岁）的数据与完成原始MyCog的年龄匹配样本进行比较。通过验证性因素分析评估内部一致性和结构效度。采用贝叶斯差异项目功能来评估MyCog和MyCog 2.0等效性的证据。
执行功能和情景记忆测试的内部一致性较高（ω = 0.84）。一个双因素模型显示出极佳的拟合度，表明测试按预期测量了两个相关但不同的结构，即情景记忆和执行功能。情景记忆表现或执行功能准确性方面未观察到两个测试版本之间的差异项目功能；然而，发现五个执行功能项目的反应时间在不同版本之间存在差异。
研究结果支持MyCog 2.0作为首个专门为方便老年人使用而设计的可靠的自我管理认知筛查工具。研究结果支持MyCog 2.0的内部一致性和结构效度，并为即将进行的临床验证研究奠定了基础。
