Influence of age, gender and educational level on performance in the Brief Cognitive Battery-Edu

Nitrini, Ricardo; Brucki, Sonia Maria Dozzi; Smid, Jerusa; Carthery-Goulart, Maria Teresa; Anghinah, Renato; Areza-Fegyveres, Renata; Bahia, Valeria Santoro; Damin, Antonio Eduardo; Formigoni, Ana Paula; Frota, Norberto Anízio Ferreira; Guariglia, Carla; Jacinto, Alessandro F.; Kato, Eliane Mayme; Lima, Edson Erasmo Pereira; Moreira, Daniel; Nóbrega, Ana Beatriz; Porto, Claudia Sellitto; Senaha, Mirna Lie Hosogi; Silva, Mari Nilva M.; Souza-Talarico, Juliana Neri; Radanovic, Marcia; Mansur, Leticia Lessa

doi:10.1590/S1980-57642009DN20200007

Abstract

The Brief Cognitive Battery-Edu (BCB-Edu) contains nine tests, seven of which are related to the memory of drawings, and has good accuracy in the diagnosis of cognitive impairment.

Objectives:

To evaluate the influence of age, gender and educational level on the performance in tests related to memory of drawings of the BCB-Edu in healthy subjects.

Methods:

Participants were adult volunteers; exclusion criteria were illiteracy, neurologic or psychiatric disorders, visual or hearing impairment, untreated chronic clinical conditions, alcoholism, use of drugs, and for those aged 65 or over, an informant report of cognitive or functional impairment. We evaluated 325 individuals (207 women), with a mean age of 47.1 (±16.8) years, ranging from 19 to 81, and a mean of 9.8 (±5.0) schooling-years. Univariate analyses, correlations and logistic regression were employed (a=0.05).

Results:

There were significant negative correlations between age and the scores in four of the seven tests. However, schooling-years were positively correlated to the scores, where schooling-years decreased with age in this sample (rho= -0.323; p<0.001). Logistic regression confirmed that gender influenced the learning of drawings, where women performed better, while age influenced incidental memory, immediate memory, learning and delayed recall of the drawings, and schooling-years influenced visual identification, immediate memory, learning, delayed recall and recognition of the drawings.

Conclusion:

Gender, age and education influence the performance on the memory of drawings of the BCB-Edu, although the extent of these influences differs according to the nature of the test.

Key words:
neuropsychological tests; education; aging; Brief Cognitive Battery

Resumo

A Bateria Breve de Rastreio Cognitivo - Edu (BBRC-Edu) contém nove testes, sete dos quais relacionados à memória de desenhos. Tem uma boa acurácia no diagnóstico de comprometimento cognitivo.

Objetivos:

Avaliar a influência da idade, sexo e nível educacional no desempenho nos testes relacionados à memória de desenhos da BBRC-Edu em sujeitos saudáveis.

Métodos:

Os participantes foram voluntários; os critérios de exclusão foram: analfabetismo, doenças neurológicas ou psiquiátricas, perda auditiva ou visual, condições clínicas descompensadas, etilismo, uso de drogas, e para aqueles com idade igual ou superior a 65 anos, informação de acompanhante de presença de comprometimento cognitivo ou funcional. Foram avaliados 325 indivíduos (207 mulheres), com idade média de 47.1 (±16.8) anos, variando de 19 a 81 nos, média de 9.8 (±5.0) anos de escolaridade. Análise univariada, correlações e regressão logística foram empregadas (a=0.05).

Resultados:

Houve correlações negativas significativas entre idade e os escores de quatro dos sete testes. A escolaridade correlacionou-se positivamente aos escores, embora a escolaridade diminua com a idade nesta amostra (rho= -0.323; p<0.001). Regressão Logística confirmou que o gênero tem influência no aprendizado, com melhor desempenho entre as mulheres, enquanto a idade influenciou a memória incidental, memória imediata, aprendizado e evocação das figuras; e a escolaridade influenciou a identificação, memória imediata, aprendizado, evocação e reconhecimento.

Conclusão:

Gênero, idade e educação tiveram influência no desempenho na memória de figuras da BBRC-Edu, embora de modo diferente entre os tipos de teste.

Palavras-chave:
testes neuropsicológicos; educação; envelhecimento; Bateria Breve de Rastreio Cognitivo

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References

¹
Nitrini R, Caramelli P, Porto CS, et al. Brief cognitive battery in the diagnosis of mild Alzheimer's disease in subjects with medium and high levels of education. Dement Neuropsychol 2007;1:32-36
²
Takada LT, Caramelli P, Fichman HC, et al. Comparison between two tests of delayed recall for the diagnosis of dementia. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2006;64:35-40.
³
Nitrini R, Lefèvre BH, Mathias SC, et al. Testes neuropsicológicos de simples aplicação no diagnóstico de demência. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 1994;52:457-465.
⁴
Nitrini R, Caramelli P, Herrera Júnior E, et al. Performance of illiterate and literate nondemented elderly subjects in two tests of long-term memory. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2004;10:634-638.
⁵
Bondi MW, Salmon DP, Butters NM. Neuropsychological features of memory disorders in Alzheimer disease. In: Terry RD, Katzman R, Bick KL, editors. Alzheimer disease. New York: Raven Press; 1994:41-63.
⁶
Morris JC, Heyman A, Mohs RC, et al. The consortium to establish a registry for Alzheimer's disease (CERAD). Part 1. Clinical and neuropsychological assessment of Alzheimer's disease. Neurology 1989;39:1159-1165.
⁷
Bertolucci PH, Okamoto IH, Brucki SM, Siviero MO, Toniolo Neto J, Ramos LR. Applicability of the CERAD neuropsychological battery to Brazilian elderly. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2001;59:532-536.
⁸
Carthery-Goulart MT, Anghinah R, Areza-Fegyveres R, et al. Performance of a Brazilian population on the test of functional health literacy in adults - short version (S-TOFHLA). Dement Neuropsychol 2007;1(Suppl 2):42-43
⁹
Pfeffer RI, Kurosaki TT, Harrah CH Jr, Chance JM, Filos S. Measurement of functional activities in older adults in the community. J Gerontol 1982;37:323-329.
¹⁰
Ishizaki J, Meguro K, Ambo H, et al. A normative, community-based study of Mini-Mental State in elderly adults: the effect of age and educational level. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 1998;53:P359-363.
¹¹
Anthony JC, LeResche L, Niaz U, von Korff MR, Folstein MF. Limits of the 'Mini-Mental State' as a screening test for dementia and delirium among hospital patients. Psychol Med 1982;12:397-408.
¹²
Burke DM, Light LL. Memory and aging: the role of retrieval processes. Psychol Bull 1981;90:513-546.
¹³
Balota DA, Dolan PO, Duchek JM. Memory changes in healthy older adults. In: Tulving E, Craik FIM, editors. The Oxford handbook of memory. New York: Oxford University Press; 2000.
¹⁴
Baddeley AD. Human Memory. Theory and practice. Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon; 1998.
¹⁵
Ardila A, Moreno S. Neuropsychological test performance in Aruaco Indians: An exploratory study. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2001;7:510-515.
¹⁶
Ardila A, Rosselli M, Rosas P. Neuropsychological assessment in illiterates: Visuospatial and memory abilities. Brain Cogn 1989;11:147-166.
¹⁷
Reis, A, Petersson, KM, Castro-Caldas A, Ingvar M. Formal schooling influences two- but not three dimensional naming skills. Brain Cogn 2001;47:397-411.
¹⁸
Reis A, Faísca L, Ingvar M, Petersson KM. Color makes a difference: Two-dimensional object naming in literate and illiterate subjects. Brain Cogn 2006;60:49-54.
¹⁹
Ardila A, Ostrosky-Solís F, Rosselli M, Gomez C. Age-related cognitive decline during normal aging: the complex effect of education. Arch Clin Neuropsychol 2000;15:495-513.
²⁰
Murphy KJ, West R, Armilio ML, Craik FI, Stuss DT. Word-list-learning performance in younger and older adults: intra-individual performance variability and false memory. Neuropsychol Dev Cogn B Aging Neuropsychol Cogn 2007;14: 70-94
²¹
Perlmutter M. Age differences in adults' free recall, cued recall, and recognition. J Gerontol 1979; 34:533-9.
²²
Lamar M, Resnick SM, Zonderman AB. Longitudinal changes in verbal memory in older adults: distinguishing the effects of age from repeat testing. Neurology 2003;60: 82-86.
²³
Bleecker ML, Bolla-Wilson K, Agnew J, Meyers DA. Age-related sex differences in verbal memory. J Clin Psychol 1988;44:403-411.
²⁴
Zelinski EM, Stewart ST. Individual differences in 16-year memory changes. Psychol Aging 1998;13:622-30.
²⁵
Ostrosky-Solis F, Ardila A, Rosselli M, Lopez-Arango G, Uriel-Mendoza V. Neuropsychological test performance in illiterate subjects. Arch Clin Neuropsychol 1998;13:645-660.

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
Apr-Jun 2008

History

Received
27 Apr 2008
Accepted
21 May 2008

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License

[1] ¹
Nitrini R, Caramelli P, Porto CS, et al. Brief cognitive battery in the diagnosis of mild Alzheimer's disease in subjects with medium and high levels of education. Dement Neuropsychol 2007;1:32-36

[2] ²
Takada LT, Caramelli P, Fichman HC, et al. Comparison between two tests of delayed recall for the diagnosis of dementia. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2006;64:35-40.

[3] ³
Nitrini R, Lefèvre BH, Mathias SC, et al. Testes neuropsicológicos de simples aplicação no diagnóstico de demência. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 1994;52:457-465.

[4] ⁴
Nitrini R, Caramelli P, Herrera Júnior E, et al. Performance of illiterate and literate nondemented elderly subjects in two tests of long-term memory. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2004;10:634-638.

[5] ⁵
Bondi MW, Salmon DP, Butters NM. Neuropsychological features of memory disorders in Alzheimer disease. In: Terry RD, Katzman R, Bick KL, editors. Alzheimer disease. New York: Raven Press; 1994:41-63.

[6] ⁶
Morris JC, Heyman A, Mohs RC, et al. The consortium to establish a registry for Alzheimer's disease (CERAD). Part 1. Clinical and neuropsychological assessment of Alzheimer's disease. Neurology 1989;39:1159-1165.

[7] ⁷
Bertolucci PH, Okamoto IH, Brucki SM, Siviero MO, Toniolo Neto J, Ramos LR. Applicability of the CERAD neuropsychological battery to Brazilian elderly. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2001;59:532-536.

[8] ⁸
Carthery-Goulart MT, Anghinah R, Areza-Fegyveres R, et al. Performance of a Brazilian population on the test of functional health literacy in adults - short version (S-TOFHLA). Dement Neuropsychol 2007;1(Suppl 2):42-43

[9] ⁹
Pfeffer RI, Kurosaki TT, Harrah CH Jr, Chance JM, Filos S. Measurement of functional activities in older adults in the community. J Gerontol 1982;37:323-329.

[10] ¹⁰
Ishizaki J, Meguro K, Ambo H, et al. A normative, community-based study of Mini-Mental State in elderly adults: the effect of age and educational level. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 1998;53:P359-363.

[11] ¹¹
Anthony JC, LeResche L, Niaz U, von Korff MR, Folstein MF. Limits of the 'Mini-Mental State' as a screening test for dementia and delirium among hospital patients. Psychol Med 1982;12:397-408.

[12] ¹²
Burke DM, Light LL. Memory and aging: the role of retrieval processes. Psychol Bull 1981;90:513-546.

[13] ¹³
Balota DA, Dolan PO, Duchek JM. Memory changes in healthy older adults. In: Tulving E, Craik FIM, editors. The Oxford handbook of memory. New York: Oxford University Press; 2000.

[14] ¹⁴
Baddeley AD. Human Memory. Theory and practice. Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon; 1998.

[15] ¹⁵
Ardila A, Moreno S. Neuropsychological test performance in Aruaco Indians: An exploratory study. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2001;7:510-515.

[16] ¹⁶
Ardila A, Rosselli M, Rosas P. Neuropsychological assessment in illiterates: Visuospatial and memory abilities. Brain Cogn 1989;11:147-166.

[17] ¹⁷
Reis, A, Petersson, KM, Castro-Caldas A, Ingvar M. Formal schooling influences two- but not three dimensional naming skills. Brain Cogn 2001;47:397-411.

[18] ¹⁸
Reis A, Faísca L, Ingvar M, Petersson KM. Color makes a difference: Two-dimensional object naming in literate and illiterate subjects. Brain Cogn 2006;60:49-54.

[19] ¹⁹
Ardila A, Ostrosky-Solís F, Rosselli M, Gomez C. Age-related cognitive decline during normal aging: the complex effect of education. Arch Clin Neuropsychol 2000;15:495-513.

[20] ²⁰
Murphy KJ, West R, Armilio ML, Craik FI, Stuss DT. Word-list-learning performance in younger and older adults: intra-individual performance variability and false memory. Neuropsychol Dev Cogn B Aging Neuropsychol Cogn 2007;14: 70-94

[21] ²¹
Perlmutter M. Age differences in adults' free recall, cued recall, and recognition. J Gerontol 1979; 34:533-9.

[22] ²²
Lamar M, Resnick SM, Zonderman AB. Longitudinal changes in verbal memory in older adults: distinguishing the effects of age from repeat testing. Neurology 2003;60: 82-86.

[23] ²³
Bleecker ML, Bolla-Wilson K, Agnew J, Meyers DA. Age-related sex differences in verbal memory. J Clin Psychol 1988;44:403-411.

[24] ²⁴
Zelinski EM, Stewart ST. Individual differences in 16-year memory changes. Psychol Aging 1998;13:622-30.

[25] ²⁵
Ostrosky-Solis F, Ardila A, Rosselli M, Lopez-Arango G, Uriel-Mendoza V. Neuropsychological test performance in illiterate subjects. Arch Clin Neuropsychol 1998;13:645-660.

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