Riccardo E. Marioni
The association between late-life cognitive test scores and retrospective informant interview data
Marioni, Riccardo E.; Matthews, Fiona E.; Brayne, Carol
Authors
Professor Fiona Matthews F.Matthews@hull.ac.uk
Pro-Vice-Chancellor Research and Enterprise
Carol Brayne
Abstract
Background: Cognitive assessment of older persons, particularly those with impairment, is hampered by measurement error and the ethical issues of testing people with dementia. A potential source of valuable information about end-of-life cognitive status can be gained from those who knew the respondent well-mostly relatives or friends. This study tested the association between last cognitive assessment before death and a retrospective informant assessment of cognition. Methods: Data were analyzed from 248 participants from the Medical Research Council Cognitive Function and Ageing Study who were aged 71 to 102 years at death. Late-life cognition was assessed 0 to 8 years before death using the Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE) and the informant measure was taken 0 to 7 years after death using a Retrospective Informant Interview (RInI). Results: Zero-inflated Poisson regression showed a strong association between MMSE scores and RInI scores-those scoring 29-30 on the MMSE had a RInI score four times lower than those who scored <18 (p < 0.001). The time between MMSE and death was also a significant predictor with each additional year increasing RInI scores by 12.4% (p < 0.001). The time between death and RInI was only a significant predictor when including measures that were taken four years or more after death. Conclusions: Cognitive scores from retrospective informant interviews are strongly associated with late-life MMSE scores taken close to death. This suggests that the RInI can be used as a proxy measure of cognition in the period leading up to death. © 2010 International Psychogeriatric Association.
Citation
Marioni, R. E., Matthews, F. E., & Brayne, C. (2011). The association between late-life cognitive test scores and retrospective informant interview data. International Psychogeriatrics, 23(2), 274-279. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1041610210001201
| Journal Article Type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | Mar 1, 2011 |
| Deposit Date | Dec 8, 2023 |
| Journal | International Psychogeriatrics |
| Print ISSN | 1041-6102 |
| Electronic ISSN | 1741-203X |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 274-279 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1017/S1041610210001201 |
| Public URL | https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4454922 |