Community screening interview for dementia (CSI 'D'); performance in five disparate study sites

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Neuroscience
• Public Health

Background:

• Dementia screening requires culturally adaptable tools for global research.
• Existing instruments may not suit diverse literacy levels or socioeconomic backgrounds.
• Cross-cultural dementia studies necessitate validated assessment methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development of the Community Screening Interview for Dementia (CSI ‘D’).
• To evaluate the CSI ‘D’ as a dementia screening instrument for cross-cultural use.
• To assess the contribution of informant data to dementia screening accuracy.

Main Methods:

• Harmonization, translation, back-translation, and pilot testing of the CSI ‘D’ across five international sites.
• Development of a two-component instrument: a cognitive test (literate/non-literate) and an informant interview.
• Statistical analysis to compare the performance of cognitive scores alone versus combined cognitive and informant scores.

Main Results:

• The CSI ‘D’ demonstrated adaptability and utility across diverse socioeconomic and cultural settings.
• Inclusion of informant data significantly enhanced the performance of the CSI ‘D’.
• A discriminant score combining informant and cognitive data yielded superior sensitivity and specificity for dementia detection compared to cognitive scores alone.
• Informant scores showed a significant independent predictive effect for dementia.

Conclusions:

• The CSI ‘D’ is a versatile and effective screening tool for dementia in cross-cultural research.
• Integrating informant interviews substantially improves dementia screening accuracy.
• The CSI ‘D’ offers a valuable method for identifying dementia in varied global populations.