Prediction of Cognitive and Functional Decline Using the Telephone-Administered Minnesota Cognitive Acuity Screen

Predicting daily functioning with the modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status

Background

The modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (mTICS) is a frequently used telephone-based cognitive screening measure that can distinguish between normal aging, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and dementia. Although it has been used to predict current and future cognitive function in older adults, no studies have examined if the mTICS can predict daily functioning.

Aims

The current study sought to examine the relationship between the mTICS and a performance-based measure of daily functioning.

Methods

The mTICS and demographic information (age, sex, education) were collected during a telephone screening visit for 149 older adults (65–91 years in age) with amnestic MCI. Three subscales of the Independent Living Scales (ILS; Managing Money, Managing Home and Transportation, Health and Safety) were collected during a baseline visit and during a 16 month follow-up visit in a subsample of 93 individuals.

Results

Using simple hierarchical regression, baseline mTICS total score combined with demographic variables significantly predicted 19–22% of baseline ILS subscale scores. Similarly, in a subsample of 93 participants with 16 month follow-up data, baseline mTICS and demographic information predicted 9–31% of ILS subscale scores at follow-up.

Conclusions

The mTICS appears able to predict daily functioning in older individuals with MCI. Remote tracking of cognition and daily functioning in this at-risk group seems particularly beneficial to geriatricians and other providers, especially during COVID-19.

Diagnostic test accuracy of remote, multidomain cognitive assessment (telephone and video call) for dementia

BACKGROUND

Remote cognitive assessments are increasingly needed to assist in the detection of cognitive disorders, but the diagnostic accuracy of telephone- and video-based cognitive screening remains unclear.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the test accuracy of any multidomain cognitive test delivered remotely for the diagnosis of any form of dementia. To assess for potential differences in cognitive test scoring when using a remote platform, and where a remote screener was compared to the equivalent face-to-face test.

SEARCH METHODS

We searched ALOIS, the Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group Specialized Register, CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Web of Science, LILACS, and ClinicalTrials.gov (www.

CLINICALTRIALS

gov/) databases on 2 June 2021. We performed forward and backward searching of included citations.

SELECTION CRITERIA

We included cross-sectional studies, where a remote, multidomain assessment was administered alongside a clinical diagnosis of dementia or equivalent face-to-face test.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Two review authors independently assessed risk of bias and extracted data; a third review author moderated disagreements. Our primary analysis was the accuracy of remote assessments against a clinical diagnosis of dementia. Where data were available, we reported test accuracy as sensitivity and specificity. We did not perform quantitative meta-analysis as there were too few studies at individual test level. For those studies comparing remote versus in-person use of an equivalent screening test, if data allowed, we described correlations, reliability, differences in scores and the proportion classified as having cognitive impairment for each test.

MAIN RESULTS

The review contains 31 studies (19 differing tests, 3075 participants), of which seven studies (six telephone, one video call, 756 participants) were relevant to our primary objective of describing test accuracy against a clinical diagnosis of dementia. All studies were at unclear or high risk of bias in at least one domain, but were low risk in applicability to the review question. Overall, sensitivity of remote tools varied with values between 26% and 100%, and specificity between 65% and 100%, with no clearly superior test. Across the 24 papers comparing equivalent remote and in-person tests (14 telephone, 10 video call), agreement between tests was good, but rarely perfect (correlation coefficient range: 0.48 to 0.98).

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

Despite the common and increasing use of remote cognitive assessment, supporting evidence on test accuracy is limited. Available data do not allow us to suggest a preferred test. Remote testing is complex, and this is reflected in the heterogeneity seen in tests used, their application, and their analysis. More research is needed to describe accuracy of contemporary approaches to remote cognitive assessment. While data comparing remote and in-person use of a test were reassuring, thresholds and scoring rules derived from in-person testing may not be applicable when the equivalent test is adapted for remote use.

Anticholinergic/Sedative Drug Burden and Subjective Cognitive Decline in Older Adults at Risk of Alzheimer's Disease

BACKGROUND

Anticholinergic/sedative drug use, measured by the Drug Burden Index (DBI), has been linked to cognitive impairment in older adults. Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) may be among the first symptoms patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) experience. We examined whether DBI values are associated with SCD in older adults at risk of AD. We hypothesized that increased DBI would be associated with greater SCD at older ages.

METHOD

Two-hundred-six community-dwelling, English-speaking adults (age = 65 ± 9 years) at risk of AD (42% apolipoprotein ε4 carriers; 78% with AD family history) were administered a single question to ascertain SCD: "Do you feel like your memory is becoming worse?" Response options were "No"; "Yes, but this does not worry me"; and "Yes, this worries me." DBI values were derived from self-reported medication regimens using older adult dosing recommendations. Adjusting for relevant covariates (comorbidities and polypharmacy), we examined independent effects of age and DBI on SCD, as well as the moderating effect of age on the DBI-SCD association at mean ± 1 SD of age.

RESULTS

Both SCD and anticholinergic/sedative drug burden were prevalent. Greater drug burden was predictive of SCD severity, but age alone was not. A significant DBI*Age interaction emerged with greater drug burden corresponding to more severe SCD among individuals age 65 and older.

CONCLUSION

Anticholinergic/sedative drug exposure was associated with greater SCD in adults 65 and older at risk for AD. Longitudinal research is needed to understand if this relationship is a pre-clinical marker of neurodegenerative disease and predictive of future cognitive decline.

Cognitive Assessment via Telephone: A Scoping Review of Instruments

OBJECTIVE

Telephone-based cognitive assessment (TBCA) has long been studied but less widely adopted in routine neuropsychological practice. Increased interest in remote neuropsychological assessment techniques in the face of the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic warrants an updated review of relevant remote assessment literature. While recent reviews of videoconference-based neuropsychological applications have been published, no updated compilation of empirical TBCA research has been completed. Therefore, this scoping review offers relevant empirical research to inform clinical decision-making specific to teleneuropsychology.

METHOD

Peer-reviewed studies addressing TBCA were included. Broad search terms were related to telephone, cognitive, or neuropsychological assessment and screening. After systematic searching of the PubMed and EBSCO databases, 139 relevant articles were retained.

RESULTS

In total, 17 unique cognitive screening measures, 20 cognitive batteries, and 6 single-task measures were identified as being developed or adapted specifically for telephone administration. Tables summarizing the identified cognitive assessments, information on diagnostic accuracy, and comparisons to face-to-face cognitive assessment are included in supplementary materials.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, literature suggests that TBCA is a viable modality for identifying cognitive impairment in various populations. However, the mode of assessment selected clinically should reflect an understanding of the purpose, evidence, and limitations for various tests and populations. Most identified measures were developed for research application to support gross cognitive characterization and to help determine when more comprehensive testing was needed. While TBCA is not meant to replace gold-standard, face-to-face evaluation, if appropriately utilized, it can expand scope of practice, particularly when barriers to standard neuropsychological assessment occur.

Telephone-based Minnesota Cognitive Acuity Screen predicts time to institutionalization and homecare

ABSTRACTBackground:We assessed the ability of a telephone-administered cognitive screening test - Minnesota Cognitive Acuity Screen (MCAS) - to predict time to assisted living/nursing home placement (i.e. institutionalization) and homecare/institutionalization in healthy controls (HC), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and Alzheimer's disease (AD).

METHODS

Participants (N = 146; HC = 37; MCI = 70; AD = 39) had baseline MCAS testing and were re-contacted over eight years for dates of starting homecare, institutionalization, and death. Occasionally, outcomes were obtained via medical records. Accounting for informative censoring due to death within a competing risks framework, Cox regression examined the associations of baseline MCAS performance with the start of (a) institutionalization and (b) homecare/institutionalization.

RESULTS

Hazard ratios (HR) captured the effect of a ten-point difference in baseline MCAS scores, corresponding to a change from the MCI/HC to AD/MCI boundaries. In unadjusted models, increased baseline cognitive impairment was associated with nearly two-fold increases in the hazard of institutionalization (HR = 1.81, 95% CI = 1.32, 2.48) and homecare/institutionalization (HR = 1.87, 95% CI = 1.44, 2.42). However, hazards were not proportional over time in models adjusting for sex. This was resolved when regressions were run for men and women separately. Both sexes showed significant increases in the hazard of institutionalization (Females: HR = 2.39, 95% CI = 1.53-3.74; Males: HR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.02-2.76) and homecare/institutionalization (Females: HR = 2.31, 95% CI = 1.66, 3.21; Males: HR = 1.98, 95% CI = 1.32, 2.96) with increased impairment, although hazards were lower for males.

CONCLUSIONS

Telephone-administered MCAS provides useful information about the risk of needing homecare assistance or institutionalization. It may be particularly useful when office/home visits are prohibitive but cognitive monitoring is indicated.

Consensus Approaches to Identify Incident Dementia in Cohort Studies: Systematic Review and Approach in the Successful Aging after Elective Surgery Study

OBJECTIVES

To survey the current methods used to ascertain dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in longitudinal cohort studies, to categorize differences in approaches and to identify key components of expert panel methodology in current use.

METHODS

We searched PubMed for the past 10 years, from March 6, 2007 to March 6, 2017 using a combination of controlled vocabulary and keyword terms to identify expert panel consensus methods used to diagnose MCI or dementia in large cohort studies written in English. From these results, we identified a framework for reporting standards and describe as an exemplar the clinical consensus procedure used in an ongoing study of elective surgery patients (the Successful Aging after Elective Surgery study).

RESULTS

Thirty-one articles representing unique cohorts were included. Among published methods, membership of experts panel varied significantly. There was more similarity in what types of information was use to ascertain disease status. However, information describing the diagnostic decision process and resolution of disagreements was often lacking.

CONCLUSIONS

Methods used for expert panel diagnosis of MCI and dementia in large cohort studies are widely variable, and there is a need for more standardized reporting of these approaches. By describing the procedure in which our expert panel achieved consensus diagnoses, we hope to encourage the development and publication of well-founded and reproducible methods for diagnosis of MCI and dementia in longitudinal studies.

A Survey of Knowledge and Views Concerning Genetic and Amyloid PET Status Disclosure

Introduction

This survey characterizes viewpoints of cognitively intact at-risk participants in an Alzheimer Prevention Registry if given the opportunity to learn their genetic and amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) status.

Methods

A total of 207 participants were offered a 25-item survey. They were asked if they wished to know their apolipoprotein E (APOE) and amyloid PET status and if so, reasons for wanting to know, or not, and the effects of such information on life plans.

Results

One hundred sixty-four (79.2%) of the registrants completed the survey. Among those who were unaware of their APOE or amyloid PET results, 80% desired to know this information. The most common reasons for wanting disclosure were to participate in research, arrange personal affairs, prepare family for illness, and move life plans closer into the future. When asked if disclosure would help with making plans to end one's life when starting to lose their memory, 12.7% versus 11.5% responded yes for APOE and amyloid PET disclosures, respectively. Disclosure of these test results, if required for participation in a clinical trial, would make 15% of the people less likely to participate. Likelihood of participation in prevention research and the desire to know test results were not related to scores on brief tests of knowledge about the tests.

Discussion

These results suggest that stakeholders in AD prevention research generally wish to know biological test information about their risk for developing AD to assist in making life plans.