Psychometric norms of neuropsychological tests among community- dwelling elderly filipinos

• Main Authors: Dominguez, Jacqueline, Orquiza, Mary Grace S., Cheng, Joanne Marie, Liu, John, Pamintuan, Mary Rose
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2009
• Subjects: Neuropsychological tests; Older people—Psychological testing; Older people—Mental health; Geropsychology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/9133
• Institution: De La Salle University

Background: Neuropsychological tests are important objective measures to aid physicians in diagnosing dementia and mild cognitive impairment. In the Philippines, western-derived norms are currently used as basis for the test score comparison. It is necessary to obtain appropriate normative data derived from the Filipino elderly to ensure the accuracy of the results of neuropsychological evaluation. Objectives: The objective of this study is to establish an age-adjusted and education-adjusted normative psychometric data set which is also language-appropriate, culturally sensitive and clinically meaningful for use with Filipinos. The battery of neuropsychological tests includes the subscales of the Alzheimer's disease Assessment Scale - Cognitive (ADAS-Cog), verbal fluency, trails A and B, logical memory, digit symbol, digit span, Boston naming test and clock drawing test. Research Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted among community dwelling Filipinos 60 years and older without dementia as determined by clinical examination and normal MMSE. Methods: The test battery was administered by trained psychologists and scored independently by another psychologist who has experience in administration and scoring of the same battery of neuropsychological tests. Age groups were 60-69, 70-79 and above 80 years old while education was 0-6, 7-10 and above 10 years of formal education. The mean, standard deviation and percentile distribution were used to analyze the data and derive the normative ranges. Results: The mean age of the participants was 68.56 (SD= 5.29) and mean education in years was 9.07 (SD= 3.73). Majority of the sample (87%) was female. The norms show the effects of age and education indicating better scores with higher education and younger age. Conclusion: Age and education affects cognitive performance. This reference norm will be helpful in the assessment of Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's disease in the Filipino population.