Sensitivity and specificity of neuropsychological tests for dementia and mild cognitive impairment in a sample of residential elderly in South Africa

摘要

Background. Neuropsychological tests can successfully distinguish between healthy elderly persons and those with clinically significant?cognitive impairment. Objectives. A battery of neuropsychological tests was evaluated for their discrimination validity of cognitive impairment in a group of?elderly persons in Durban, South Africa. Method. A sample of 117 English-speaking participants of different race groups (9 with dementia, 30 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI)?and 78 controls) from a group of residential homes for the elderly was administered a battery of 11 neuropsychological tests. Kruskal-Wallis?independent sample tests were used to compare performance of tests in the groups. Sensitivity and specificity of the tests for dementia and?MCI were determined using random operating curve (ROC) analysis. Results. Most tests were able to discriminate between participants with dementia or MCI, and controls ( p