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Premorbid intelligence estimation and level of dementia in Alzheimer's disease

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2009

A. Matt Maddrey ,
C.M. Cullum ,
M.F. Weiner  and
C.M. Filley
A. Matt Maddrey
Affiliation:
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75235
C.M. Cullum
Affiliation:
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75235
M.F. Weiner
Affiliation:
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75235
C.M. Filley
Affiliation:
The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Boulder, CO 80302
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Abstract

Simple sight-word reading tasks have demonstrated utility in the estimation of premorbid intelligence, although the effects of progressive dementia on such tasks has not been thoroughly examined. The present investigation sought to examine estimated IQ scores from the National Adult Reading Test-Revised (NART-R; Blair & Spreen, 1989) in relation to a WAlS-R-bascd (Wechsler, 1981) estimate of IQ in a series of patients with probable Alzheimer's disease across varying levels of dementia. Results suggest that while NART-R scores do show a decrement with dementia severity, this decline is mild, in contrast to traditionally based IQ scores and other measures of cognitive function, which show more marked declines. Similarly, compared with other tasks, the NART-R showed the strongest correlation with education across the sample as a whole, while the other indices were more related to level of dementia. These findings support the use of measures such as the NART-R in estimating premorbid intellectual functioning in patients at various levels of dementia severity, including those with more advanced cognitive deterioration. (JINS, 1996, 2, 551–555.)

Keywords

Premorbid intelligenceAlzheimer's diseaseDementia
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 2 , Issue 6 , November 1996 , pp. 551 - 555
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 1996

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