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A Machine Learning Approach to Design an Efficient Selective Screening of Mild Cognitive Impairment
Published on: January 11, 2020
Telephone interview for cognitive status: Creating a crosswalk with the Mini-Mental State Examination
Tamara G Fong1, Michael A Fearing, Richard N Jones
1Aging Brain Center, Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, MA, USA. tfong@bidmc.harvard.edu
Summary
The Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS) provides comparable scores to the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), enabling direct linking of cognitive impairment measures for research and clinical use.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Neuropsychology
- Psychometrics
Background:
- Brief cognitive screening tools are vital for research and clinical settings.
- The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) is widely used but has limitations including in-person administration and copyright restrictions.
- The Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS) offers a viable alternative for assessing global cognitive function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish direct score comparability between the MMSE and TICS.
- To determine equivalent cut-point scores for identifying cognitive impairment.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of MMSE, TICS-30, and TICS-40 scores from 746 community-dwelling elders in the Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study (ADAMS).
- Utilized equipercentile equating to determine comparable scores based on percentile equivalents.
Main Results:
- MMSE and TICS scores demonstrated strong correspondence.
- Clinically relevant cut-point scores were established, e.g., MMSE 23 is equivalent to TICS-30 17 and TICS-40 20.
- Provided specific MMSE and TICS cut-point scores for cognitive impairment assessment.
Conclusions:
- TICS and MMSE scores can be directly linked, facilitating broader application.
- The study provides essential cut-point scores for TICS-30 and TICS-40 to identify cognitive impairment.
- These findings support the expanded use of TICS in research and clinical practice for cognitive disorder assessment.
