Discriminability of Mild Cognitive Impairment Subtypes Based on Neuropsychological Test Outcomes from a Memory Clinic in Puerto Rico

Abstract

Abstract Objective The aim of the study was to research test outcomes in Dementia Rating Scale-2 (DRS-2; Spanish adapted version), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Mini Mental Status Exam (MMSE), and Geriatric Depression Scale short form (GDS-SF), as predictors of the different Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) subtypes. Participants and Method Our sample constituted of 169 total participants (113 females and 56 males), with ages ranging from 44 to 88 (M = 68.20, SD = 9.59). Educational level presented by sample included 67.5% with professional degrees, 21.9% with a high school diploma, and 10.1% with less than a high school education. We conducted hierarchical logistic regression analysis to generate predicted probabilities of the cognitive tests’ total scores in identifying MCI subtypes. We tested four individual models- each utilized a different MCI subtype (amnestic MCI, single; amnestic MCI, multiple; non-amnestic MCI, single; non-amnestic MCI, multiple) as the dependent variable. The MoCA, DRS-2, MMSE, and the GDS-SF total scores were used as predictors in each analysis. Results We found statistical significance in our four regression models: χ2(1) = 46.26, p < .05 for the model with amnestic MCI, multiple; χ2 (1) = 17.62, p < .05 for the model with amnestic MCI, single; χ2(1) = 15.35, p < .05 for the model with non-amnestic MCI, multiple; and χ2(1) = 18.74, p < .05 for the model with non-amnestic MCI, single. Conclusions Overall, the results in this study suggest that the DRS-2 and the MoCA, two relatively brief and comprehensive screening instruments, are able to discriminate between individuals with varying forms of cognitive impairment. Participants in the amnestic subtypes of MCI performed significantly lower on both of these tests. Our results also suggest that MMSE better discriminates for non-amnestic subtypes. Finally, the GDS-SF suggests better discriminability between memory related cognitive impairment and emotionally related cognitive impairment.