FURTHER DATA ON THE VALIDITY OF THE INFORMANT QUESTIONNAIRE ON COGNITIVE DECLINE IN THE ELDERLY (IQCODE)

The validity of the long and short forms of the IQCODE was studied in a group of 144 elderly ex-servicemen whose wives served as informants. The study examined the association of the IQCODE with clinical diagno sis of dementia, a battery of neuropsychological and psychological tes ts, CT scan findings and psychosocial characteristics of informants. F or comparison, the validity of the Mini-Mental State Examination was a lso examined using the same standards. The IQCODE was found to perform as well as the Mini-Mental as a screening test for dementia. Unlike t he Mini-Mental, it was not influenced by premorbid intelligence or edu cation. However, it was influenced by other non-cognitive factors: the affective state and personality of the subject, the affective state o f the informant and the quality of the relationship between the subjec t and the informant. The short and long forms of the IQCODE were highl y correlated and had equal validity.