Relations between Concurrent Longitudinal Changes in Cognition, Depressive Symptoms, Self-Rated Health and Everyday Function in Normally Aging Octogenarians.

Ability to predict and prevent incipient functional decline in older adults may help prolong independence. Cognition is related to everyday function and easily administered, sensitive cognitive tests may help identify at-risk individuals. Factors like depressive symptoms and self-rated health are also associated with functional ability and may be as important as cognition. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between concurrent longitudinal changes in cognition, depression, self-rated health and everyday function in a well-defined cohort of healthy 85 year olds that were followed-up at the age of 90 in the Elderly in Linköping Screening Assessment 85 study. Regression analyses were used to determine if cognitive decline as assessed by global (the Mini-Mental State Examination) and domain specific (the Cognitive Assessment Battery, CAB) cognitive tests predicted functional decline in the context of changes in depressive symptoms and self-rated health. Results showed deterioration in most variables and as many as 83% of these community-dwelling elders experienced functional difficulties at the age of 90. Slowing-down of processing speed as assessed by the Symbol Digits Modality Test (included in the CAB) accounted for 14% of the variance in functional decline. Worsening self-rated health accounted for an additional 6%, but no other variables reached significance. These results are discussed with an eye to possible preventive interventions that may prolong independence for the steadily growing number of normally aging old-old citizens

Swedish normative data and longitudinal effects of aging for older adults : The Boston Naming Test 30-item and a short version of the Token Test

Naming ability and verbal comprehension are cognitive functions that may be affected both by normal aging and by disease. Neuropsychological testing is crucial to evaluate changes in language ability and reliable normative data for all ages are needed. We present clinically useful test norms, together with subsample analysis of longitudinal effects of aging, for two robust and well-known tests that evaluate naming ability and verbal comprehension where the present norms for older adults (aged 85 and older) are sparse or missing. Participants (n = 338) from a Swedish population-based study, the Elderly in Linkoping Screening Assessment, were cognitively evaluated with a cognitive screening battery at the age of 85 years and followed to the age of 93 years. Normative data at age 85 years were calculated from a sample (n = 207) that was determined as cognitively healthy after application of rigorous exclusion criteria. Effects of normal aging were investigated by analyzing follow-up performance at age 90 and 93 years for the subsample of cognitively healthy that completed the entire study. The evaluated tests in this study are Swedish versions of the Boston Naming Test 30-item Odd Version (BNT-30) and a short form of the Token Test, Part V (TokV). Analyzes of effects of aging showed that performance decreased with age for BNT-30, but not for TokV. Higher education was associated with better performance in both tests and men performed better than women on the BNT-30. Results also showed naming ability to be more sensitive to aging than verbal comprehension

Age-Normative MMSE Data for Older Persons Aged 85 to 93 in a Longitudinal Swedish Cohort

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Normative Mini-mental state examination (MMSE) reference values in elderly are scarce. Therefore, the aim is to present normative MMSE values for 85-93 year olds. DESIGN: A longitudinal age cohort study. SETTING: A population study of the residents in the municipality of Linköping, Sweden. PARTICIPANTS: Residents (n = 650) born in 1922 during the course of 2007. In total, 374 individuals participated and were tested with MMSE at age 85, 280 of these were willing and able to also participate at age 86, 107 at age 90 and 51 at age 93. MEASUREMENTS: MMSE, from 0-30, with lower scores denoting more impaired cognition. RESULTS: Median MMSE values for the total population over the ages 85, 86, 90 and 93 years was 28 for all ages investigated. The 25th percentile values were 26, 26, 26 and 27, respectively. For a "brain healthy" sub-group median values were 28, 29, 28, and 28. The 25th percentile values were 27, 28, 26 and 27, respectively. Comparisons for age-effects showed no differences when all individuals for each age group were compared. When only the individuals reaching 93 years of age (n = 50) were analyzed, there was a significant lowering of MMSE in that age group. CONCLUSION: The literature is variable and in clinical practice a low (24) MMSE cut off is often used for possible cognitive impairment in old age. The present data indicate that MMSE 26 is a reasonable cut off for possible cognitive decline in older persons up to the age of 93. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:534-538, 2019

Normative data for the oldest old: Trail Making Test A, Symbol Digit Modalities Test, Victoria Stroop Test and Parallel Serial Mental Operations

Normative data for evaluating cognitive function in the oldest old, aged 85 years and above, are currently sparse. The normative values used in clinical practice are often derived from younger old persons, from small sample sizes or from broad age spans (e.g. amp;gt;75 years) resulting in a risk of misjudgment in assessments of cognitive decline. This longitudinal study presents normative values for the Trail Making Test A (TMT-A), the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), the Victoria Stroop Test (VST) and the Parallel Serial Mental Operations (PaSMO) from cognitively intact Swedes aged 85 years and above. 207 participants, born in 1922, were tested at 85, 90 (n = 68) and 93 (n = 35) years of age with a cognitive screening test battery. The participants were originally recruited for participation in the Elderly in Linkoping Screening Assessment. Normative values are presented as mean values and standard deviations, with and without adjustment for education. There were no clinically important differences between genders, but education had a significant effect on test results for the 85-year-olds. Age effects emerged in analyses of those participants who completed the entire study and were evident for TMT-A, SDMT, VST1 and PaSMO. When comparisons can be made, our results are in accordance with previous data for TMT-A, SDMT and VST, and we present new normative values for PaSMO.Funding Agencies|Linkoping University [LIO-696631, LIO 602761, LIO 537591]; Linkopings Universitet [LIO- 696631, LIO- 602761, LIO- 537591]</p

Pearson coefficients showing the interrelations between changes in cognition, depressive symptoms, self-rated health and IADL.

<p>Pearson coefficients showing the interrelations between changes in cognition, depressive symptoms, self-rated health and IADL.</p

The results of multiple linear regressions (enter method) with change in IADL as criterion variable.

<p>The results of multiple linear regressions (enter method) with change in IADL as criterion variable.</p

Demographic characteristics of the participants at inclusion (age 85).

<p>Demographic characteristics of the participants at inclusion (age 85).</p

Descriptive data at T1 and T3, p-values and effect sizes.

<p>The last two columns report the mean and SD of change scores (∆, computed by subtracting performance at T3 from performance at T1, or vice versa, such that deterioration is indicated by negative values) over the 5-year span of the study.</p

Description of the Cognitive Assessment Battery (CAB) subtests.

<p>Description of the Cognitive Assessment Battery (CAB) subtests.</p