A Comparison Study of Mild Cognitive Impairment With 3 Memory Tests Among Chinese Individuals

ObjectiveTo examine whether 3 common memory tests differ statistically in terms of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) discrimination rates and conversion rates to Alzheimer disease. MethodsA sample of 329 Chinese patients who consulted our memory clinic in Shanghai were tested using tasks including the auditory verbal learning test (AVLT), the logical memory (LM) test, the Rey-Osterrieth complex figure test, and other neuropsychologic tasks. One hundred and forty-nine of these patients were tested again using the identical tests 2 years later. The diagnose standard of probable Alzheimer disease is the same as the standard of the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Diseases and Stroke-Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders Association. ResultsThe results of the MCI discrimination rates are as follows: AVLT-II (51%) >AVLT-I (31%) > complex figure test-II (27%) >LM-I (21%)=LM-II (21%) (I—immediate recall; II—delayed recall). The MCI group categorized based on LM-II cutoff has a higher conversion rate per year (24%), but also a higher reversal rate and missed diagnosis rate, whereas the group based on AVLT-II cutoff has a lower conversion rate per year (12%), but also a lower reversal rate and missed diagnosis rate. ConclusionsThe MCI discrimination rate and the conversion rate among different episodic memory tests are differ considerably.

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