The Yamaguchi fox/pigeon-imitation test, a brief cognitive performance rating tool, in a community-dwelling...

Screening tools for dementia should be valid and easy to complete and have a low psychological burden. Consistent with these principles, the Yamaguchi fox/pigeon-imitation test (YFPIT) has been developed. However, there is little information on the utility of the YFPIT for preclinical populations, although the detection of proven prodromal and preclinical states is important.

We recruited 392 volunteers who were at least 60 years old (139 men and 253 women) and had participated in the Iwaki Health Promotion Project. The YFPIT was administered to all participants.

Most subjects succeeded in imitating the fox gesture regardless of their cognitive function impairment, while the success rates for the pigeon gesture were 75.3% in the normal group and 56.3% in the cognitive impairment group. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PV(+)), and negative predictive value (PV(-)) were 43.8%, 75.3%, 7.0%, and 97.0%, respectively. The greatest significant difference between the imitation of the pigeon gesture and cognitive impairment was found in females with subjective memory impairments (P=0.001). In that group, the sensitivity, specificity, PV(+), and PV(-) were 100%, 81.9%, 18.8%, and 100%, respectively.

This study suggests that the utility of the YFPIT is limited in the general population, but that it is a useful tool in females with subjective memory impairments in a community-dwelling population.