Performance of the 16-Item Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline for the Elderly (IQCODE) in an Arabic-Speaking Older Population

Thien Kieu Thi Phung, Monique Chaaya, Khalil Asmar, Samir Atweh, Husam Ghusn, Rose Mary Khoury, Martin Prince, Gunhild Waldemar

18 Citationer (Scopus)

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIM: The North African and Middle Eastern region has high illiteracy rates among older people, making direct cognitive testing challenging. Validated screening instruments for dementia in Arabic are lacking. We aimed to validate the Arabic version of the 16-item Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline for the Elderly (A-IQCODE 16) for screening for dementia through an informant.

METHODS: 236 Lebanese participants older than 65 years, 143 with normal cognition and 93 with mild-to-moderate dementia according to the DSM-IV criteria, and their informants were recruited. Half of the participants had no formal education. Interviewers blinded to the cognitive status of the participants administered the A-IQCODE 16 to the informants. The ability of the A-IQCODE 16 to screen for dementia was evaluated against the DSM-IV diagnoses.

RESULTS: The A-IQCODE 16 had excellent overall predictive power (area under the receiver operator characteristic curve = 0.96). A cutoff point of >3.34 yielded the best sensitivity (92.5%) and specificity (94.4%) for dementia screening. At this cutoff point, the discriminatory ability of the A-IQCODE 16 was comparable between participants with and those without formal education.

CONCLUSION: The A-IQCODE 16 is not biased by education and is therefore useful as a brief screening tool for dementia among Arabic-speaking older adults with low education.

OriginalsprogEngelsk
TidsskriftDementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders
Vol/bind40
Udgave nummer5-6
Sider (fra-til)276-89
Antal sider14
ISSN1420-8008
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 14 okt. 2015

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