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Published on: January 24, 2020
Normative data for the 12-item Buschke memory task in the Quebec-French population aged 50 and over
Mariane Landry1,2, Marie-Michèle Champagne2, Charlotte Labrecque2
1Centre de Recherche CERVO, Centre Intégré Universitaire de Santé et de Services Sociaux de la Capitale-Nationale (CIUSSS-CN), Quebec City, Canada.
Objective:
The 12-item Buschke memory test is used to assess verbal episodic memory in adults and older adults. However, there is no normative data for this test adjusted to the older Quebec-French population. The aim of the study was to produce normative data for the 12-item Buschke for the Quebec-French population aged 50 and older.
Method:
The normative sample consisted of 172 healthy French-speaking participants aged 50-89 years, from the Province of Quebec (Canada). The influence of age, years of formal education, and sex on five 12-item Buschke scores were analyzed. Based on the distribution of scores, normative data were developed as Z-scores equation, regression equation, and percentiles.
Results:
Age, years of formal education, and sex were all associated with performance. Equations to calculate Z-scores were provided for the free recall trial 1 and the free recall trials 1-3. Stratified percentiles were provided for the delayed free recall and total recall 1-3.
Conclusions:
The normative data for the 12-item Buschke improve the accuracy of clinicians to detect verbal episodic memory impairments in Quebec's aging population.

