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Diagnostic utility of the NAB List Learning test in Alzheimer’s disease and amnestic mild cognitive impairment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2009

BRANDON E. GAVETT ,
SABRINA J. POON ,
AL OZONOFF ,
ANGELA L. JEFFERSON ,
ANIL K. NAIR ,
ROBERT C. GREEN  and
ROBERT A. STERN
BRANDON E. GAVETT
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
SABRINA J. POON
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
AL OZONOFF
Affiliation:
Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
ANGELA L. JEFFERSON
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
ANIL K. NAIR
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
ROBERT C. GREEN
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts Department of Medicine (Genetics Program), Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts Department of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
ROBERT A. STERN*
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
*
*Correspondence and reprint requests to: Robert A. Stern, Alzheimer’s Disease Clinical and Research Program, Boston University School of Medicine, Robinson 7800, 72 East Concord Street, Boston, MA 02118-2526. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Measures of episodic memory are often used to identify Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The Neuropsychological Assessment Battery (NAB) List Learning test is a promising tool for the memory assessment of older adults due to its simplicity of administration, good psychometric properties, equivalent forms, and extensive normative data. This study examined the diagnostic utility of the NAB List Learning test for differentiating cognitively healthy, MCI, and AD groups. One hundred fifty-three participants (age: range, 57–94 years; M = 74 years; SD, 8 years; sex: 61% women) were diagnosed by a multidisciplinary consensus team as cognitively normal, amnestic MCI (aMCI; single and multiple domain), or AD, independent of NAB List Learning performance. In univariate analyses, receiver operating characteristics curve analyses were conducted for four demographically-corrected NAB List Learning variables. Additionally, multivariate ordinal logistic regression and fivefold cross-validation was used to create and validate a predictive model based on demographic variables and NAB List Learning test raw scores. At optimal cutoff scores, univariate sensitivity values ranged from .58 to .92 and univariate specificity values ranged from .52 to .97. Multivariate ordinal regression produced a model that classified individuals with 80% accuracy and good predictive power. (JINS, 2009, 15, 121–129.)

Keywords

DementiaSensitivity and specificityDifferential diagnosisNeuropsychologyNeuropsychological testsMemory
Type
Research Articles
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 15 , Issue 1 , January 2009 , pp. 121 - 129
Copyright
Copyright © INS 2009

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