EFFECT OF EDUCATION AND GENDER ADJUSTMENT ON THE SENSITIVITY AND SPECIFICITY OF A COGNITIVE SCREENING BATTERY FOR DEMENTIA - RESULTS FROM THE MOVIES PROJECT

The Monongahela Valley Independent Elders Survey (MoVIES) used a multi phase process to identify demented persons among 1,366 randomly select ed noninstitutionalized individuals 65 years and older, Raw test score s from a cognitive screening battery were used to identify cognitively impaired individuals who were referred for a clinical evaluation, Sub sequently, test scores were adjusted for education and gender within a ge strata, Adjusting test scores affected sensitivity for dementia onl y among the most educated, increasing sensitivity among younger subjec ts and decreasing among the older subjects, Specificity increased amon g the least educated and the oldest subjects, Overall, the adjusted cr iteria did not perform as well as the unadjusted criteria in this samp le, Adjustment for education will not necessarily improve the ability of a screening battery for cognitive function to identify demented per sons, particularly if unadjusted scores perform well.