Validation of the Shiraz Verbal Learning Test in elderly women, both with and without dementia

Dementia is a major public health concern, and culturally adapted cognitive tools are essential for accurate screening among older adults.

To evaluate the discriminant validity of the Shiraz Verbal Learning Test (SVLT) in differentiating verbal memory performance among elderly women with and without dementia in Shiraz, Iran.

A cross-sectional study was conducted with 60 women aged 65 years or older, recruited between 2024 and 2025 by convenience sampling in Shiraz. The sample included 30 cognitively healthy participants and 30 with mild to moderate dementia diagnosed according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) criteria and confirmed by a neurologist. Assessments included a demographic questionnaire, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the 28-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), and the SVLT. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA).

The dementia group scored significantly lower than the healthy group across all SVLT memory measures - learning, immediate recall, delayed free recall, delayed cued recall, and recognition (p<0.01) - demonstrating strong discriminant capacity.

The SVLT demonstrated satisfactory psychometric validity and promising clinical usefulness in differentiating dementia-related verbal memory deficits among elderly Iranian women, indicating its potential as a culturally adapted tool for early cognitive screening in clinical and research contexts.