A Reliable Tool for Assessing MCI and Dementia: Validation Study of DemTect for Turkish Population

Gozde Sengul Aycicek; Hatice Çalıskan; Cemile Ozsurekci; Pelin Unsal; Josef Kessler; E Kalbe; Mert Esme; Rana Tuna Dogrul; Cafer Balcı; Umran Seven; Erdem Karabulut; Meltem Halil; Mustafa Cankurtaran; Burcu Balam Yavuz

doi:10.1177/1533317520949805

A Reliable Tool for Assessing MCI and Dementia: Validation Study of DemTect for Turkish Population

Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen. 2020 Jan-Dec:35:1533317520949805. doi: 10.1177/1533317520949805.

Affiliations

¹ Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, 64005Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
² Department of Neurology, Neuropsychology, University Hospital Cologne, Germany.
³ Department of Medical Psychology, Neuropsychology, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
⁴ Department of Biostatistics, 64005Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.

Abstract

Background and aim: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia prevalence are expected to increase with aging. The DemTect is a very quick and easy tool to administer and recognize the early stages of dementia and MCI. In this study we aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of a Turkish version of the DemTect and define cut off values for different age and educational levels. One of our aims is also to compare the sensitivity and specifity of the DemTect to other common screening tools.

Patients and methods: Fifty-four patients with MCI, 55 patients with dementia and 91 patients with subjective memory complaints (SMC) were enrolled in the study. The DemTect was translated into Turkish by forward-backward translation and compared with the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Quick Mild Cognitive Impairment Turkish version (QMCI-TR) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). In order to test interrater reliability, the DemTect was administered to 11 patients, on the same day, by 2 trained raters. To establish test-retest reliability, the same rater scored the tool a second time on 11 patients within 2 weeks.

Results: The median age of the patients was 73 (min-max: 65-90) years, 54.5% were female. We found a strong correlation between DemTect scores and the MMSE, the QMCI, and the MoCA (r = 0.725, r = 0.816, r = 0.821, respectively; p < 0.001). In ROC analysis, the cut-off point of the DemTect to differentiate MCI from SMC was 11.5 with 92.6% sensitivity, 91.2% specificity, AUC 0.973 and the cut-off point of the DemTect to differentiate dementia from SMC was 9.5 with 96.4% sensitivity, 100% specificity, AUC 0.916. Cronbach α was 0.823. Intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.873 (95% CI: 0.598-0.964) for interrater reliability and 0.966 (95% 0.777-0.982) for test-retest reliability (Cronbach α = 0.932, 0.966 respectively).

Conclusion: The DemTect is a very reliable tool to assess Turkish patients with MCI and dementia.

Keywords: DemTect; cognitive screening; dementia; mild cognitive impairment; older adults.

MeSH terms

Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Cognitive Dysfunction* / diagnosis
Dementia* / diagnosis
Female
Humans
Male
Mental Status and Dementia Tests
Neuropsychological Tests
ROC Curve
Reproducibility of Results