Cross-Validation of a Dementia Screening Test in a Heterogeneous Population

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Abstract
Ritchie K A (Institut Nationale de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U.164, 16 Avenue Paul Vaillant Couturier, 94807 Villejuif, France) and Hallerman E F. Coss-validation of a dementia screening test in a heterogeneous population. International Journal of Epidemiology 1989, 18: 717–719. Recognition of the increasing importance of early dementia screening for both research and clinical purposes has led to the development of numerous screening instruments. The most promising of these are based on neuropsychological measures which are able to focus on very specific cognitive functions. Of these tests the lowa screening test is of particular interest to researchers and clinicians working with heterogenous populations or wishing to make cross-cultural comparisons as it is relatively culture-fair and does not assume literacy. A preliminary study of the performance of the lowa in an Israeli sample of diverse ethnic origins and low education level suggests it to be a very sensitive measure even in such groups. The study also demonstrates the inadvisability of adopting item weights derived by multivariate statistical techniques from another population.

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