• David J Moore, David Sitzer, Colin A Depp, Lori P Montross, Jennifer Reichstadt, Barry D Lebowitz, and Dilip V Jeste.
• Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, California 92161, USA. djmoore@ucsd.edu
• Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2007 Apr 1; 22 (4): 327-31.

BackgroundCognitive functioning is a central component of successful aging. Yet, there are few published instruments for brief and reliable self-administered cognitive assessment that could be used in large population-based studies of community-dwelling elderly people.ObjectiveWe examined the utility of a self-administered cognitive screening instrument in a group of community-dwelling older adults, and we evaluated correlations of the performance on this measure with demographic variables and specific indicators of self-rated successful aging.MethodWe assessed 182 well-educated adults ages 58 to 99 with a modified version of a previously published cognitive screening instrument (Cognitive Assessment Screening Test--Revised; CAST-R), a measure of cognitive complaints (Cognitive Failures Questionnaire; CFQ), and a self-rating of successful aging. We used the SF-36 Physical and Mental Composite Scores as measures of physical and mental health-related functioning.ResultsAs expected, most individuals performed well on the CAST-R; only 7% of participants fell below a previously established cut score for cognitive impairment. CAST-R scores were positively correlated with level of education, income, SF-36 Mental Composite Scores, and a self-rating of successful aging, and negatively correlated with chronological age. Scores on the CAST-R were not correlated with cognitive complaints (CFQ total score) or SF-36 Physical Composite Scores.ConclusionsA self-administered cognitive screening tool may be a useful, albeit limited, way of screening for cognitive disabilities among well-educated, community-dwelling older adults. Although preliminary, significant associations with several successful aging-related variables in expected directions represent the first step in establishing the validity of the CAST-R.

24 keywords...

hide…