Benchmarking a Test of Temporal Orientation with Data from American and Taiwanese Persons with Alzheimer’s Disease and American Normal Elderly

Vol. 24, No. 1-2, 2005

Free Abstract Article (References) Article (PDF 111 KB)

Original Paper

Benchmarking a Test of Temporal Orientation with Data from American and Taiwanese Persons with Alzheimer's Disease and American Normal Elderly
Rochelle E. Tractenberg^a, Maxine Weinstein^b, Myron F. Weiner^c, Paul S. Aisen^d, Jong-Ling Fuh^e, Noreen Goldman^f, Yi-Li Chuang^g

^aDepartment of Biomathematics and Biostatistics, Georgetown University School of Medicine,
^bCenter for Population and Health, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.;
^cDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Tex., and
^dDepartment of Neurology, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, D.C., USA;
^eThe Neurological Institute, Taipei Veterans General Hospital and National Yang-Ming University School of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan;
^fOffice of Population Research, Princeton University, Princeton, N.J., USA, and
^gNational Institute of Family Planning, Taichung, Taiwan

Address of Corresponding Author

Neuroepidemiology 2005;24:110-116 (DOI: 10.1159/000081610)

Key Words

Alzheimer's disease
Orientation
Dementia, longitudinal

Abstract

Orientation questions are readily incorporated into longitudinal population surveys, but their value as a screening tool for cognitive impairment is uncertain. We evaluated the screening value of four orientation-to-time items (TTO) from the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) by determining their association with full-scale MMSE scores. Data collected under protocols with strict eligibility criteria in the US (64 normal elderly, 242 persons with probable Alzheimer's disease) and Taiwan (241 persons with probable Alzheimer's disease) were analyzed. The TTO and full-scale MMSE scores were significantly correlated (p < 0.05) in persons with a Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) score of 0 or 1; this was not significant in persons with a CDR of >1 (p > 0.05). Both TTO and MMSE were significantly associated with education in persons with 0-7 years of education; some MMSE items, but none of the TTO items, were associated with education in persons with more than 7 years of education. TTO may be a useful component of cognitive screening efforts.

Author Contacts

Rochelle E. Tractenberg
Department of Biomathematics and Biostatistics
7 East Main, M7202, Georgetown University Hospital, 3800 Reservoir Road NW
Washington, DC 20008 (USA)
Tel. +1 202 444 8748, Fax +1 202 444 4114, E-Mail ret7@georgetown.edu

Article Information

Published online: October 18, 2004
Number of Print Pages : 7
Number of Figures : 0, Number of Tables : 4, Number of References : 31

Medline Abstract (ID 15492486)

Download Citation

Cited In

This journal is part of the first subject package of the Karger

Journal Archive Collection

Information on packages (PDF)
Free sample issues

For non-native English speakers and international authors who would like assistance with their writing before submission, we suggest American Journal Experts for their scientific editing service.