Octogenarian and centenarian performance on the Fuld Object Memory Evaluation

Psychometric validation of Fuld Object Memory Evaluation in older adults with cognitive impairments

OBJECTIVES

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) refers to an early but abnormal state of cognitive impairment with minimal functional impairment. The present study aimed to evaluate the validity of Fuld Object Memory Evaluation (FOME) as a measure of episodic memory function.

METHOD

The study sample included 204 Chinese older adults with cognitive impairments. The participants completed five recall trials and a delayed trial in FOME, neurocognitive measures on digit spans and trail making, and daily functioning. Discriminative power of FOME to differentiate between MCI and dementia was inspected via receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.

RESULTS

FOME showed good test-retest reliability and convergent validity with digit spans and trail making. Controlling for gender, age, and education, lower levels of FOME total retrieval, verbal fluency, and daily functioning significantly predicted a higher likelihood of dementia compared to MCI. The optimal cut-off scores for total retrieval, verbal fluency, and daily functioning to differentiate dementia were 37/38 (77% sensitivity and 83% specificity), 28/29 (85% sensitivity and 72% specificity), and 14/15 (92% sensitivity and 78% specificity), respectively, in the younger subgroup. The corresponding figures were 34/35 (69% sensitivity and 76% specificity) and 27/28 (92% sensitivity and 62% specificity), and 11/12 (74% sensitivity and 80% specificity), respectively, in the older subgroup.

CONCLUSION

The findings support the FOME as a valid assessment tool of episodic memory function in older Chinese adults. The combined use of FOME and daily functioning is recommended to distinguish persons with dementia from MCI.

Semantic Interference Test: Evidence for Culture and Education Fairness from an Ethnically Diverse Sample in the USA

OBJECTIVE

Tests of cognitive abilities are particularly susceptible to culture-based bias because these abilities are culturally bound. The specific purpose of this study was to examine the Semantic Interference Test, a clinical neuropsychological test, for culture bias.

METHOD

The sample included 415 community-dwelling participants (mean age 74, SD = 8.32; 308 were females) living in South Florida (USA). The sample included 72 African Americans, 93 Afro-Caribbeans, 77 Hispanic Americans, and 173 European Americans. An Item Response Theory analysis of bias was employed using the Differential Item Functioning (DIF) procedure.

RESULTS

Overall, the items appear to be invariant across gender, ethnicity, and education levels. Although the DIF identified several items that appear to differ across the two latter groupings, the multiple group confirmatory factor analysis (MG-CFA) suggests that these items have low impact on the overall measure. There were however, meaningful differences across age groups in the MG-CFA, suggesting that an age adjustment might be required.

CONCLUSION

The SIT can be considered a cognitive test that is not significantly affected by the participants' cultural background, at least within the culture range included in this study.

‘Just another day’: the lived experience of being a hundred years old for ten New Zealanders

The aim of this study was to gain an understanding of the experiences of extended longevity as perceived by centenarians. Centenarians (people over 100 years of age) are the fastest growing group of the ageing population in developed countries. Ten centenarians aged between 100 and 106 years, living in the Lower North Island of New Zealand, participated in the study. The biographical narrative interpretive method of inquiry guided data collection through face-to-face interviews, and thematic analysis was subsequently undertaken. Four themes were identified: (a) ‘becoming a centenarian: ‘Just another day’; (b) ‘growing up in a privileged environment’ that revealed four sub-themes: ‘having freedom and choice’, ‘being loved and nurtured’, ‘living healthy lifestyles’ and having ‘good education prospects’; (c) ‘unique opportunities in adult life’; and (d) ‘positive ageing and celebration of longevity’. The centenarians spoke nonchalantly about their experience of turning 100 and positive personalities were prominent features of the participants, who all expressed a sense of acceptance and satisfaction with life and contentment with living in the present, a feature throughout their lives that was ongoing and at an intergenerational level. This study has provided further insights into the existing literature on longevity and through the narratives of the centenarians has demonstrated the value of Erikson's psycho-social stages of development and Tornstam's theory of gerotranscendence when considering positive ageing.

Neuropsychological Test Performance of Cognitively Healthy Centenarians: Normative Data From the Dutch 100-Plus Study

OBJECTIVES

The fraction of the population that reaches the age of 100 years is growing. At this age, dementia incidence is high and cognitive functioning is highly variable across individuals. Normative data for neuropsychological tests are lacking in centenarians, which hampers the ability to evaluate their cognitive functioning for both research and clinical practice. Here, we generated norms for neuropsychological tests in a sample of cognitively healthy centenarians while taking sensory impairments into account.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional cohort study.

SETTING

Centenarians who participate in the prospective 100-plus Study.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 235 centenarians (71.5% female), who self-reported to be cognitively healthy, which was confirmed by an informant and a trained researcher.

MEASUREMENTS

We generated normative data for 15 cognitive tests, measuring global cognition (Mini-Mental State Examination [MMSE]), premorbid intelligence, attention, language, memory, executive function, and visuospatial function by multiple linear regressions and/or by reporting percentiles.

RESULTS

Normative data for global cognition resulted in a mean MMSE score of 25.6 ± 3.1 (range = 17-30; interquartile range = 24-28). Vision problems and fatigue often complicated the ability to complete tests, and these problems explained 41% and 22% of the missing test scores, respectively. In contrast, hearing problems (4%) and task incomprehension (6%) rarely complicated test performance. While educational level was associated with performance on the majority of the tests, sex and age were only weakly associated with test performance.

CONCLUSIONS

We generated normative data for 15 common neuropsychological tests in a large sample of cognitively healthy centenarians, while taking age-related sensory impairments into consideration. These normative data allow the detection of deficits across a wide range of cognitive domains. Our results suggest that, next to education level, vision ability and the level of fatigue should be taken into account when evaluating cognitive functioning in centenarians. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:759-767, 2019.